John Romano: Mike Evans' final route out of Tampa Bay was perfect, as usual

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 9, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

TAMPA, Fla. — The accountants won. Common sense prevailed.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not overwhelm Mike Evans with an offer too lucrative to refuse, and he will put on an unfamiliar uniform for the first time in 13 years and 13,000 yards.

As longtime breakups go, this was more amicable than most. Feelings were not hurt and fingers were not pointed.

If we’re being honest, this was the best outcome for everyone involved.

But that doesn’t make it any less disheartening today.

Evans was our constant. He was our fallback. He was the guy who arrived when the Bucs were an afterthought, and now he departs with the organization back in the community’s good graces.

Now, would the Bucs be a better team if Evans was in the huddle in 2026?

Of course they would.

He’s a future Hall of Famer and a fierce competitor. He’s the best offensive player this franchise has ever known and his value has been unmistakable. Since the team’s fortunes began to turn with the arrival of Bruce Arians in 2019, the Bucs are 60-39 with Evans on the field and 6-12 when he’s injured.

But Evans’ place on the roster is not a binary choice. It’s not as simple as a thumbs up or down.

If there was another season on the horizon for No. 13, it was going to cost the Bucs $20 million or more. And another $20-plus million in 2027, and perhaps another after that. (We do not yet know how much of his three-year, $60 million deal with San Francisco is guaranteed.) You may not care about the Glazer family dropping that kind of coin for a franchise icon, but you should definitely care what it would mean for the salary cap.

The Bucs are at a precarious point in their journey. The roster has been almost completely remade since the 2020 Super Bowl season, but the defense needs major upgrades if there is to be another long playoff run in the future. And devoting too much money to a soon-to-be 33 year old at a position of strength would not be the best way to go about it.

All the work the Bucs have done to bring in Tristan Wirfs, Bucky Irving, Emeka Egbuka, Baker Mayfield, Luke Goedeke and Chris Godwin on offense will go to waste if the defense isn’t revamped in the next two to three years.

This is about the proper allocation of assets. With Egbuka, Godwin and Jalen McMillan still on the roster, the Bucs will be okay at receiver. It’s going to hurt not to have Evans stretching the field and attracting defenders in the red zone, but new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will have an offseason to adjust the game plan.

In the long run, it’s far more important for Tampa Bay to find an edge rusher and complementary pieces on defense.

If you’re going to be ticked off this week, that might be the better place to direct your ire.

On the first day teams can talk to free agents, the Bucs came to an agreement with Detroit linebacker Alex Anzalone. That’s a nice start. Anzalone is not a great run stopper, but he’ll be a definite improvement in short-to-medium pass coverage over the middle.

The question is whether the Bucs will take the money they offered Evans and reinvest it in an edge rusher. Four of the best free-agent pass rushers already came off the board Monday with the Panthers, Commanders, Chargers and Bengals investing nearly $300 million in four different players.

Waiting for the draft to address the position is risky and, arguably, the cheaper way to proceed.

But that’s a concern for later in the week. This is a day to salute Evans and to recall all that he did during his 12 years in Tampa Bay.

Feel free to bemoan the loss of a player who should have finished his career in the same place where it began, but you should also recognize that the NFL is not the ideal place for fairy-tale endings.

Evans currently resides at No. 21 in the NFL record books for receiving yards. Of the 20 players ahead of him, only four played their entire careers with one team. Jerry Rice finished with the Seahawks. Randy Moss played for the Patriots, Titans, Vikings and 49ers in his final two seasons. Terrell Owens and James Lofton both played for five teams.

That’s a lot of Hall of Famers who said goodbye to one fan base or another.

Evans is not the first hometown hero to fold up a familiar uniform and put it in storage. He’s also not the first player to look for a better opportunity to chase a Super Bowl, a fact that Tampa Bay has benefitted from in the recent past.

Yes, it stinks today but only because of the thousands of yesterdays that Tampa Bay was blessed to have Mike Evans.

____