Texans reportedly make Mike Evans decision amid contract demands

It appears the reigning AFC South champions may pass on taking a big swing at signing wide receiver Mike Evans if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers icon reaches free agency next month. 

The JoeBucsFan website reported on Wednesday that "a source with knowledge of the situation" speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine said that the Houston Texans "will not make a run at Evans" because they are "good with their current receiving corps, at least good enough to pass on a bidding war for Evans." 

Evans routinely has been linked in stories with Houston. 

Additionally, JoeBucsFan said that Evans "is looking for an annual figure north of $25M," specifically in the range similar to average annual value numbers associated with the five-year, $141.25M deal that All-Pro receiver Davante Adams inked shortly after he was traded by the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders in March 2022. 

While it was reported over the weekend that Evans and current Tampa Bay starting quarterback Baker Mayfield may be a "package deal" for any team this offseason, it's unclear if Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is saving the franchise tag for Mayfield or safety Antoine Winfield Jr. ahead of this coming Tuesday's deadline for teams to use their tags. 

JoeBucsFan mentioned that new Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen "and many offensive coaches are not attending the 2024 combine" and instead are working "on planning offensive installations." Mayfield played under Coen when both were with the Los Angeles Rams during the 2022 season.

"You know, I’m not taking anybody or anything for granted at all because anything can happen," Licht said about Mayfield during a Tuesday appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "But usually, and I’ve been our GM for 10 years but I’ve been in the business for 30, when a player really wants to be with a team, which we know, and when the team really wants a player, there’s a way that you can make it work. It usually happens. And we happen to have several of those situations going on." 

The league's recent salary-cap explosion should give the Buccaneers enough financial flexibility to retain Evans, Mayfield and Winfield even if the tag is needed for one of those players. 

Perhaps Evans won't be as expensive as first thought if Houston and other clubs are having second thoughts about showing the 30-year-old the money this spring.