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Mike Evans must know what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to do at quarterback.
Given Evans’ agent, Deryk Gilmore, recently said the veteran receiver did not want to play with a rookie quarterback and wanted to pursue a Super Bowl, it’s fair to think the 30-year-old wanted the answer to Tampa Bay’s biggest question before he re-signed.
With that, it feels like Evans remaining in Tampa Bay makes Baker Mayfield more likely to return.
“What’s next for Tampa? Trying to sign Baker Mayfield,” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini posted Monday morning on X, shortly after the news surfaced about Evans’ two-year agreement. “The Bucs have started negotiations to keep him and making every effort to get it done.”
ESPN’s Buccaneers reporter, Jenna Laine, shared what felt like informed speculation, as well.
“Don’t be surprised if Baker Mayfield doesn’t make it to free agency either,” Laine posted on X.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter added: “Bringing back Mike Evans not only will help the Buccaneers offense, but it also will serve as another recruiting pitch for free-agent QB Baker Mayfield, who hoped to continue playing with the standout wideout.”
Russini noted Mayfield does not plan to take a hometown discount to stay in Tampa Bay and mentioned the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings could be watching the Mayfield situation.
Perhaps the New England Patriots will be watching, too.
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The Patriots also have been floated as a landing spot for Mayfield. Mayfield previously worked with new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt when the two were in Cleveland. Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf also was in Cleveland when the Browns selected Mayfield No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Those ties have made for plenty of smoke tying Mayfield to the Patriots. The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed reported Friday that Mayfield has supporters within the organization. And on Sunday, both MassLive and ESPN followed up Kyed’s report with their own about the internal support for Mayfield.
New England has an obvious need at quarterback. The Patriots have the opportunity to draft their franchise quarterback with the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But there have been multiple reports tying the Patriots to a veteran signal-caller, too.
MassLive reported on a three-step plan which would get New England its future quarterback in the draft and a short-term veteran. It would help the rookie get up to speed without having to play him right away.
Some have questioned whether Mayfield could be that veteran. Others have wondered if the Patriots could sign Mayfield and use their high-end draft capital on other positions.
All told, the Patriots might be impacted in more ways than one by the Evans deal.
New England reportedly was hoping to sign Evans in free agency, per Russini. The Patriots reportedly view the receiver position as their top priority in free agency, and Evans made plenty of sense given his 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards.
Now, losing out on Evans might cause the Patriots to lose out on Mayfield, too.