Report: Jaguars Were 'Hoping to Land' Mike Evans in Free Agency
Monday morning saw one of the best pending free agents re-sign with his original team, with Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans returning on a two-year, $52 million deal.
This means multiple wide receiver-needy teams were left looking for Plan B. And according to one report, the Jacksonville Jaguars could have been one of those teams.
According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, "multiple teams had Mike Evans on their free agent WR board and were hoping to land him in free agency. Based on several team sources: Titans, Rams, Chiefs, Patriots, Giants, Panthers, Falcons, and Jaguars."
The Jaguars being included is interesting because all signs, both public and private, have indicated the Jaguars want to re-sign wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Doing so before March 13 would mean sending a second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons, which means Ridley will almost positively get a chance to hear offers from other teams starting on March 11.
Perhaps the Jaguars envisioned a scenario where Ridley gets offers that surpass theirs next week, which would mean then pivoting to Evans. It is hard to imagine the Jaguars wanting to sign Evans and Ridley in the same offseason considering they already have money tied to Christian Kirk and Zay Jones.
"The Jaguars very much want to re-sign receiver Calvin Ridley, who had a good experience in Jacksonville, but they know that will be tough if he reaches the negotiating period starting March 11. The expectation is he will put up a rather gaudy number on a per-year average. Teams see elite ability there," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported this week.
Ridley recorded the second 1,000-yard season in his career in 2023, catching 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. He also made it through the entire season healthy, starting all 17 games after serving a season-long suspension in 2022 and missing most of the 2021 season.
