{"id":163902,"date":"2026-02-21T16:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T16:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/163902\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T16:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T16:10:14","slug":"why-buccaneers-star-mike-evans-is-being-linked-to-49ers-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/163902\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Buccaneers&#8217; Star Mike Evans is Being Linked to 49ers in Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/buccaneers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> could lose wide receiver Mike Evans in free agency if there are a number of teams interested in signing him. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">One team that could be looking at the prospect of bringing him on board is the San Francisco 49ers, who are expected to undergo many changes at the wide receiver position. Bleacher Report writer Moe Moton explains why the Niners are a team the <a href=\"https:\/\/bleacherreport.com\/articles\/25397959-top-landing-spots-mike-evans-nfl-free-agency-if-wr-leaves-buccaneers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buccaneers should look out for in the Evans free agency sweepstakes. <\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">&#8220;On the verge of\u00a0parting ways\u00a0with Brandon Aiyuk, the San Francisco 49ers need receiver help,&#8221; Moton wrote. &#8220;As a rookie, Ricky Pearsall missed time while recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in an\u00a0attempted robbery, then missed additional games last season because of football-related injuries. He has appeared in 20 regular-season games.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">&#8220;Remember, Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are set to become free agents. At 32, tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles. Although he&#8217;s\u00a0optimistic\u00a0about an early return, his age could affect his recovery timeline.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">&#8220;The 49ers should be aggressive in acquiring receiver talent, even if it means bargain-bin shopping for a veteran past his prime. Assuming Kittle misses some time, quarterback Brock Purdy will need a set of reliable hands in the passing game, other than running back Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. Evans can provide a veteran presence, and if he&#8217;s willing to use his frame to block on the edge, it would be an added bonus for head coach Kyle Shanahan&#8217;s rushing attack.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6s\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/buccaneers\/onsi\/news\/buccaneers-named-best-option-rival-falcons-running-back-nfl-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE: Buccaneers Named Best Option for Rival Running Back in NFL Free Agency<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mike Evans Could Leave Bucs For 49ers<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01khz16jcdcp58nya6kn.jpg\" alt=\"Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans reacts after a touchdown\" title=\"Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans reacts after a touchdown\" width=\"3198\" height=\"1798\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"75\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans reacts after a touchdown. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">It&#8217;s tough to imagine the possibility of Evans moving on from the Bucs after being with the team since 2014. The former No. 7 overall pick has spent his entire career in the Sunshine State, and he has been the backbone of the Buccaneers&#8217; offense throughout his entire career. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">The Bucs have prepared for this moment, however, getting Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka in the draft, building a potential foundation for when he eventually moves on.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">The Bucs got a taste of him moving on this past season when he was on the sidelines with a broken collar bone and a hamstring injury, but now that free agency is approaching, the reality of him possibly leaving is becoming more real. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/buccaneers\/onsi\/news\/nfl-draft-expert-projects-dream-round-1-scenario-buccaneers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">READ MORE: NFL Draft Expert Projects Dream Round 1 Scenario for Buccaneers<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">Stick with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/buccaneers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BucsGameday<\/a>\u00a0for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">Follow BucsGameday on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BucsGameday\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BucsGameday\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could lose wide receiver Mike Evans in free agency if there are a number&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":163903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-163902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}