Did Mike Evans Know He Would Leave the Buccaneers at the End of the 2025 Season?

Prior to this upcoming season, it was hard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to imagine a world without franchise legend Mike Evans. Now, they have to.

Evans left this offseason in free agency to play for the San Francisco 49ers, and in doing so, left the team that drafted him and where he played for 12 years prior. Evans has built an incredible legacy in Tampa Bay, but he took less money to play in San Francisco and is clearly ready for a fresh start.

Things on that front happened fast when free agency began in March. But a new clip from Netflix's newest behind-the-scenes NFL show may indicate that Evans made his mind up on leaving before the season ended last year — or did he?

Did Mike Evans Know He Was Leaving Tampa Bay?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) reacts a touchdown during the first half against the Carolina Panthers | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The most recent season of Netflix's Quarterback show, which featured Mayfield among this season's cast, featured an episode going over the team's final game that season against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.

Before the game, Evans came over to Mayfield, and he had an interesting line before the two went out on the field.

"I don't know if this is our last one, but I appreciate you, bro," Evans said.

"I don't know if this is our last one, but I appreciate you bro."

- Mike Evans to Baker before his final game as a Buc 🥲 pic.twitter.com/Zbed9T6kIh
— BakerMuse (@MuseBaker) July 15, 2026

There are a few ways to read into this statement, of course.

The first is that Evans knew he was going to leave Tampa Bay. This occurred after his infamous "3rd and 28" quote, when he left for the locker room after an Atlanta Falcons loss a few weeks before, and with the Bucs' brutal losing streak at its peak, he may have already decided to move on.

That being said, he could have simply been talking about the end of the regular season. The Bucs needed the Saints to beat the Falcons that week to make the playoffs, so he may have simply been alluding to that uncertainty.

Either way, it seems there's no bad blood between the Bucs and Evans. Evans is moving on to his 13th NFL season with the 49ers and Tampa Bay is utilizing the rest of its young receiver room in hopes of turning the offense around.

The Bucs begin training camp on July 28 without Evans in the fold. Evans, meanwhile, is set to report with the 49ers on July 25 on the other side of the country.

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