Mike Evans Talks About His Future In Tampa Bay

His comments do make you concerned about his future, though.

“Unlimited potential for our young receivers,” Evans said. “When I leave this game soon, I’m going to be happy with the receiver room that’s left in Tampa and excited to watch them have a great career and carry on the torch.”

“Leave this game soon?”

Uh oh.

Say it isn’t so.

Probed further about whether or not No. 13 will return for a poetic Year 13, Evans was non-committal.

“I haven’t even really thought about it, honestly,” Evans added. “I’m just going to wait until the season’s over, I’m just trying to focus as much as I can on the season. We’re human, we’ve got to think about the future, but I’ve been trying to lock in on helping this team make the playoffs. Time will tell.”

Tampa Bay’s season is teetering in the balance standing at 7-7. It simply does not seem that this would or really should be the end of his playing days. Going out on top on a playoff squad while having a 1,000-yard season seems more symbolic for someone as rooted in consistency as Evans is. The future Hall of Famer has plenty of fire and big games left in him.

Just look at his six-catch, 132-yard performance in his first game back against the Falcons in Week 15 as proof. He remains as competitive as ever, expecting greatness out of himself and his teammates. Even after providing the offense life with a big game, it was not enough to him.

“It felt good to be back,” Evans said in his first comments to reporters since returning. “I was super excited to be back and help the team. I thought the game was going to be taken away. I thought I was going to be done for the season. To be back out there, I worked really hard… the training staff did a great job getting me back. ‘Did I have a good game?’ I had an okay game. Yardage-wise I did alright, but there was a few more plays I could have made. I wish we could have won that game.”

Long counted on as the source of offense, Mike Evans could prove to be one of the anomalies among wide receivers being productive in their early 30s. Many of the best wide receivers in NFL history start to sputter in that age range, but the 6-foot-5, 230-pound target relies on his route-running and instincts, not pure speed. That makes it more realistic Evans could play even into his mid-30s, but it sounds like, as seen with inside linebacker Lavonte David in recent years, it will now be a year-by-year basis.

“It will be soon, even if it’s three or four more years that I play,” Evans said. “I’ve played 12, so… we’ll see. Time will tell. I don’t know, I’m really trying to focus on this season and making the most out of it.”