The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to worry about retaining both Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans in free agency this offseason, and head coach Todd Bowles spoke about the importance of keeping the two offensive stars this week.
“It’s an extremely high priority, obviously,” Bowles said on NFL Network, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “We love Baker. Baker had a heck of a year. He fit right in with us all the way around. The chemistry was outstanding with him and all the receivers and the offense as a whole, so we hope to build on that. I understand the business side of it. Like I said, we like Bake and we hope things get worked out.”
Bowles also raved about Evans.
“He had a career year last year,” Bowles said of Evans. “He’s been doing it for a decade now and obviously we want him to retire as a Buc and everything we’re trying to do, putting all our resources into signing him back as well because Mike is great for the community, he’s great for the team, he’s great for the guys and he’s a heck of a ball player.”
The good news for the Buccaneers is that they have enough cap space to re-sign Mayfield and Evans, especially after the recent cap spike.
Mayfield revitalized his career in Tampa Bay this past season, throwing for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 64.3 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 94.6 en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance.
That came after Mayfield’s career appeared to be on life support in 2022, when he split the campaign between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams and totaled 10 touchdowns and eight picks.
Meanwhile, Evans is coming off of a 2023 season in which he hauled in 79 receptions for 1,255 yards and a league-leading 13 scores, earning his fifth Pro Bowl selection.
The Bucs went 9-8 and won the NFC South division title this past year. They also defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs before falling to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.
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