Buccaneers’ Mike Evans ‘extremely confident’ Baker Mayfield will remain in Tampa Bay as free agency looms

Mike Evans decided against testing the free agent market. The Tampa Bay Buccanears star wide receiver agreed to a two-year contract extension earlier this week.

Evans confirmed the deal by posting a photo of himself in a Buccaneers’ jersey along with a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio from “The Wolf of Wall Street.” 

Now that Evans has cemented his standing with the Bucs for the next couple of years, he hopes to have the opportunity to catch passes from the same quarterback in 2024.

Evans spoke highly of quarterback Baker Mayfield and said he was hopeful he would share a locker room with the signal-caller next season.

“Me and Baker, we played one season together. I feel like we can build on what we did last year, so hopefully we get him back. He’s a hell of a player. I appreciate him. They’re going to handle their process, and I trust [general manager] Jason [Licht] and the front office no matter what happens.”

Evans also spoke about how Tampa Bay and Buccaneers players embraced Mayfield last season.

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“I mean, I’m extremely confident,” Evans said Friday when asked about Baker returning. “I’m not 100%, but he played really great for us last year. The city took him in, the players loved him. Hopefully, we get him back. But he should do what’s best for him.”

Mayfield and Evans appeared to have chemistry in their lone season together.

Evans finished the year with 1,255 receiving yards, his tenth consecutive season surpassing 1,000 yards. He also hauled in 13 touchdown receptions, the second most of his career.

The Bucs won the NFC South for a second straight season and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.

Evans believes the Bucs offer the ideal situation for Mayfield next season.

“I just want what’s best for him,” Evans said. “I think what’s best for him would be to play with me and Chris [Godwin], but there’s a lot of great receivers in this league that could use his services as well.”

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht noted the team and Mayfield’s representatives have had some positive conversations.

“I’m a confident person in general,” Licht said. “I’m confident that we’re going to be putting our best foot forward. We’ll have more pieces, I can assure you that.”

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