Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans set a record tenth season of 1,000 yards receiving or more during his winning performance against the Carolina Panthers. For a career of a player that has caught passes from six different starting quarterbacks, an unprecedented career of consistency has come despite instability at the quarterback position.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Drafted Wide Receiver
As a first found draft pick out of Texas A&M, the former seventh overall pick, Mike Evans, elected to skip his final two eligible years of collegiate football in favor of an NFL career. Coming out of college scouts were excited at the prospect of his 6’5 frame and athletic playmaking ability. As a former high school basketball player, his ability to use his size to leverage against opposing smaller corners would become an essential part of his game at the professional level.
From a stacked 2014 draft that included wide receiver talent such as; Sammy Watkins, Odell Beckham Jr., Brandin Cooks, Devante Adams, and Jarvis Landry, it can be argued that the second receiver taken off of the board, Evans, has had the overall better career to date as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Future Hall Of Famer
Since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Evans has lived up to his pre-draft hype. Being able to stay healthy, and produce regardless of who was throwing the ball to him, Evans as set a historic pace as a Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver.
With 162 yards against the Panthers on Sunday, Evans become only the second player ever in NFL history to have ten consecutive 1,000 receiving seasons, and the first to do so in his first ten seasons of his career. In a season that he may not be receiving the same national attention as some of his counterparts, he is still top ten in most receiving categories throughout the league.
As someone who has amassed 11,437 total receiving yards, and 91 total touchdowns, there is no doubt that at the very least he will be in the Bucs ring of honor following his retirement. Is is interesting to note, especially with the addition of an extra game, if Evans were to play for as long as NFL record holder Jerry Rice, Evans would be on pace with a 20 year career to surpass the NFL legend.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Contract Dispute
Despite individual and contributing to team success, Mike Evans is currently playing on the last year of an expiring deal, set to expire this offseason. Not one to create locker room discomfort, Evans has made it clear that he will not be willing to enter a holdout to get paid. When asked about his ongoing contract talks Evans said the following:
I don’t know. When that moment comes it’ll come, but right now, I’m focused on trying to get his team to the playoffs.
While his agent has criticized how certain plays are seemingly able to get a pay day by drawing attention to themselves by not showing up. It appears that Evans is planning to stay the course, keep his head down, and continue to make play for a playoff aspiring Tampa Bay Buccaneers team.