Buccaneers' Mike Evans speaks on future as season draws to close

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can ill afford to look too far into the future. As it stands right now, they have to win at least of one of their next two games against the Carolina Panthers and would like to defeat the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. One player, though, has a future in question, and he was asked about that future on Wednesday.

Wide receiver Mike Evans has missed quite a few games this year, playing in just five of them in Tampa Bay's 14 so far. He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 3 and broke his collarbone in Week 7, but he made a big return in Week 15 to catch for 132 yards. This is Evans' 12th season, though, and there has been increasing chatter over the last few years on whether or not he's ready to hang up the cleats soon.

Evans made sure to say he's focused on this season, but he spoke a little bit about his thoughts on the future during Wednesday's open locker room with media.

Mike Evans undecided on NFL future

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) runs out of the tunnel prior to the game against the New York Jets | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Evans said that his time in the NFL is coming to an end "soon", but he mentioned that "soon" could mean anywhere from 1-4 years. Right now, he says, he's focused on this season.

"I haven't even really thought about it," Evans told reporters Wednesday. "Honestly, I was just gonna wait until the season's over — I'm just trying to focus as much as I can on the season now. We're human, we gotta think about the future, but I've really been trying to be locked in on this team making the playoffs... time will tell."

Here’s Mike Evans on thinking about his future in the NFL at this time — he says he isn’t right now and that “time will tell” in a few months pic.twitter.com/G8nQB6jHTW
— River Wells (@riverhwells) December 17, 2025

Evans has already cemented his status as an NFL legend with his 1,000-yard streak, with his 11-straight 1,000-yard seasons tying Jerry Rice for the most to consecutively start a career. That streak is coming to an end this year with Evans' injuries, however, and this isn't new with him — Evans also missed three games last year due to a hamstring injury, making this the second-straight year he's missed decent time with injuries.

While one wouldn't blame Evans for wanting to retire given those two things, he's still clearly playing at a high level — his 132 yards against the Falcons showcased that quite well. Evans seems to still have gas in the tank, so his offseason decision will be interesting, also likely depending on whether or not the Bucs make the playoffs or miss out on it entirely.

The Buccaneers play the Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday for the first of two games remaining this year, this one on the road. Evans will look to have a big game there to help propel the Bucs to a much-needed victory.

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