Bruce Arians shares strong reaction to Mike Evans leaving Buccaneers for 49ers

Members of the NFL community and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were stunned when wide receiver Mike Evans left the club this past March to join the San Francisco 49ers in free agency. 

Evans had played only for the Buccaneers from the time they selected him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft through last season. During the latest edition of the "Pewter Report Podcast," former Buccaneers head coach and current club senior advisor Bruce Arians discussed Evans' departure. 

Bruce Arians was "very surprised" Mike Evans left Buccaneers for 49ers

"I was very surprised," Arians said about Evans leaving the Buccaneers, per the JoeBucsFan website. "I was almost shocked because I know how much it meant to him, and I know the offer we made."

Previous reports hinted that Evans knew ahead of the "legal tampering" portion of free agency that he would be leaving the Buccaneers for the 49ers. It was later suggested that Evans left some money on the table by agreeing to his deal so early into free agency. 

According to JoeBucsFan, "Evans was offered Chris Godwin money plus incentives to stay with Tampa Bay. Godwin earns $22M annually plus incentives on the deal he signed before the 2025 season. Instead, Evans took $14.3M plus incentives (minus a ton of state taxes) from San Francisco."

Mike Evans didn't leave Buccaneers over money? 

"There had to be some underlying thing that I don’t know was the reason," Arians added about Evans' free-agency decision. "But it wasn’t money." 

Some felt at the time that Evans took shots at the Buccaneers and at Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield when Evans said in March that he "was looking at contenders" and at "guys with good quarterbacks" before he officially hit the open market. Evans also named the Buffalo Bills as a potential landing spot, but he ultimately felt that joining the Niners "was a no-brainer." 

Perhaps Evans simply felt that the Buccaneers' window to win a championship with him on the roster had slammed shut. Whatever led to Evans signing with the 49ers, it sounds like some within the Buccaneers still don't understand why he passed on the chance to retire a one-club man.