Buccaneers' Mike Evans shares what gives him 'more motivation' in contract year

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers raised some eyebrows when they used the 2025 NFL Draft to add rookies Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson to a wide receiver room that was already stacked with talent. 

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, star Tampa Bay wideout Mike Evans addressed sharing a locker room with Egbuka and Johnson. 

"It gives me more motivation," Evans explained, as shared by Bailey Adams of Pewter Report. "I was once in those shoes, and I remember that hunger. It helps me keep that hunger, seeing young, great players like that [who] are hungry."

According to ESPN stats, the Tampa Bay offense led by quarterback Baker Mayfield finished the 2024 regular season ranked third in the NFL with an average of 250.4 passing yards per game and fourth with an average of 29.5 points scored per contest. Nevertheless, the Buccaneers grabbed Egbuka with overall draft pick No. 19 amid Chris Godwin's ongoing recovery from the gruesome dislocated left ankle he suffered last October. 

"I say it every year, but we always get great players coming in," Evans noted. "That’s been very fortunate for me in my career, to be around a lot of great young players. They’ve added to the room tremendously. They’re very polished already. Emeka has really strong hands. [He’s] super smart. Tez [has] speed and quickness. ...[Egbuka] looks like a running back, but he catches like Chris Godwin. He’s very polished, very well-rounded player."

Meanwhile, Evans is about to enter the final season of the two-year contract he signed in March 2024. The 31-year-old has only played for the Buccaneers since they made him a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2014. 

"Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it," Evans responded when asked Thursday about possibly playing in a contract year, per the JoeBucsFan website. "I just thought about having a great year this year, and then we’ll see what happens." 

As pointed out by Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' website, Evans and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only players in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for at least 11 seasons in a row. Evans seemed to have plenty left in the tank as recently as this past January, but questions about his future could hover over the Buccaneers unless he puts pen to paper on an extension this summer.