Mike Evans returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason. But two other teams in particular had the star wide receiver’s interest in the event he actually hit free agency: The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.
“I mean, in the back of my mind,” Evans told NFL Network at Buccaneers training camp, “I’m thinking Houston, Kansas City. I love Pat Mahomes’ game. I’m thinking those two teams. And I’m obviously thinking the Bucs.”
In the end, Evans didn’t test free agency at all, signing a two-year, $52 million contract extension with Tampa Bay ahead of the veteran signing period. And it seems like that was always the most likely outcome for the five-time Pro Bowler, who began his career as a first-round draft pick of the Buccaneers back in 2014.
“I mean, I’ve been here my whole career,” he explained. “And that was a goal of mine, obviously. … It would’ve been extremely hard, if I hit free agency, to leave here. But this is where my family knows. My kids were born here. My wife’s been here a long time.”
And it was Evans’ wife, Ashley, who had a big hand in the wideout ultimately putting pen to paper.
“It was really her decision, is the reason why I decided to stay,” he said. “She gave me the…
