Tom Brady sent Mike Evans a cryptic text message before unretiring
It's probably been harped on too much at this point but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a nice surprise earlier this offseason when future hall of fame quarterback Tom Brady reversed course and unretired. The move took the franchise from looking at 2022 as a season of uncertainty to reloading for another run at a championship.
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Prior to going public with his decision to return to the Buccaneers, Brady sent out a few cryptic texts to tease the upcoming move. In a recent interview with KPRC 2 Houston's Ari Alexander, Tampa Bay star wide receiver Mike Evans recalled the legendary day of March 13.
As Evans tells it, Brady was having nothing but fun leading up to his announcement. The 44-year-old joked with Evans over the sale of the ball that Brady threw (and Evans caught) his final touchdown with before "retiring." As the conversation progressed, he made a comment that had Evans thinking he was getting trolled. Instead, his mood shiftly pretty quickly when the waves began to rise on social media.
“So, he texts me and he sent me an article where his ball sold for over 500 grand … and he’s like, ‘That’s a lot of tuition money.’ I just laughed and then, I said, ‘To my defense, I didn’t know that you were going to retire right then.’ And he just sent back a laughing emoji, saying, ‘There’s more touchdowns in our future.’ So, I’m just thinking that he’s trolling me or I don’t know what he’s talking about," Evans said. "So, a few hours later, it’s announced that he’s coming back and I was happy."
“I didn’t think he was really coming back,” Evans continued. “I thought he was just playing around.”
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With Brady back in pewter and red, it'll make Evans' quest to extend his record streak of 1,000+ yard seasons to begin his career to nine straight years a little bit easier. Over the past two seaons with Brady as his starting quarterback, Evans has caught 144 passes for 2,041 yards and 27 touchdowns in the regular season as well as 28 grabs for 440 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. The stretch in 2020-21 was the first time that Evans has scored double-digit touchdowns in back to back seasons during his professional career.
Tampa Bay will look to the 6-foot-5 wide receiver to dominate during the early stretches of 2022. It's possible that the franchise will open the season without Chris Godwin in the lineup while he continues to rehab from an ACL injury. The Buccaneers brought in Russell Gage to shore up the unit but Evans' advanced chemistry with Brady will be a weapon worth utilizing.
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