What It Means for WR Market Ahead of Free Agency

Mike Evans won’t be hitting the open market after all.

Evans, who was set to enter free agency next week, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did Monday morning what they could not for the entirety of last offseason—reach common ground on a new contract. Tampa Bay and the five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver have agreed to a two-year, $52 million deal that includes $35 million guaranteed, his agent, Deryk Gilmore, told ESPN.

“Fire Them Cannons!” Evans posted Monday on his Instagram account, along with the “I’m not leaving” clip from The Wolf of Wall Street often reserved for these occasions.

Newsweek reached out to reps for Evans via email Monday for comment.

For Evans, who posted his 10th straight 1,000-yard season and led the league in receiving touchdowns in 2023, the new deal is a welcomed step toward keeping him in Tampa through the end of his playing days. And for the Bucs, it is a key piece (the next of which is resigning quarterback Baker Mayfield) in their offseason puzzle to retain a playoff-winning roster. But for the rest of the league, the signing shakes up the wide receiver market, with particular implications for any organization that sought Evans as an offseason solution.

The 6-foot-5, 231-pound receiver was thought to be among, if not the best, players at the position available when free agency begins on March 13. As recently as the start of the scouting combine last week, it seemed as if the marquee pass-catcher could be swayed from Tampa.

Now plenty of teams are disappointed.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ dream—if it was ever really possible amid other financial questions—to add Evans for a Super Bowl three-peat quest is dead. And among the other teams who had Evans on their free agency board and were hoping to land him were, per The Athletic, the Titans, Rams, Patriots, Giants, Panthers, Falcons and Jaguars. So, what now?

Some of the other notable names on the wide receiver market include Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Darnell Mooney, Gabe Davis, Curtis Samuel and Odell Beckham Jr., among others.

Two big names who weren’t mentioned? Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman Jr.

The Cincinnati Bengals have already placed the franchise tag on Higgins, while the Indianapolis Colts have been open that they will retain Pittman one way or another—whether that’s via the tag or a long-term extension. With Evans, Higgins and Pittman—if not the consensus top-three free-agent receivers, then close to it—presumably off the board, veteran options for receiver-needy teams are quickly dwindling this offseason.

That leaves the draft—deep receiving class and all—as an option instead. Or, could some teams potentially have to overpay for any of the free agent receivers still available out of necessity? Ridley is coming off a shaky return to the field in 2023 for the Jaguars, Beckham flashed at times with the Ravens but is past his prime, and the others have similar flaws that the top three don’t. Still, that’s what’s left, and teams may be anxious to act before that’s no longer the case.

Even if the remaining alternatives aren’t at the top-tier caliber of those since locked up, seeing Evans reach a lucrative new deal shouldn’t raise any complaints from his receiver colleagues.

The new $26 million yearly average places Evans fourth among the highest-paid NFL receivers, per the league, and marks nearly a $10 million-per-year bump from his previous five-year, $82.5 million deal with the franchise. The deal for Evans, 30, is believed to be the largest third contract in league history for a wide receiver of this age, according to ESPN.

“Mike just called me last night and said, ‘I want to be a Buc for life,'” Gilmore said in a statement to The Athletic. “Myself and [agent] Darren Jones have worked hard to get this deal done.”

For other free agents—even if circumstances are different (age, length of deal, etc.)—those numbers at the very least act as a high bar or standard to base their potential value off of as the offseason receiver dominoes continue to fall. And for Higgins and Pittman, whom Spotrac places market values of $18.6 million and $22.7 million on per year, respectively, does seeing Evans (even on a relatively short deal) get $26 million annually provide any sort of leverage for long-term talks, whether that’s before the franchise negotiation deadline this year, or next offseason?

That all remains to be seen. But what’s clear is, in a hectic time of the year for NFL teams hoping to acquire a premier pass-catcher, the Bucs locked up theirs.