After initially being named as a first alternate for the 2025 Pro Bowl games, Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans will now be headed to Orlando as a replacement for Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb, the league announced Monday morning.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This makes Evans a six-time Pro Bowler, and he will join teammates Tristan Wirfs and Vita Vea at the Pro Bowl Games after the two were named to the initial roster in early January.

With his sixth Pro Bowl nod, Evans ties Mike Alstott for the most by an offensive player in franchise history. He now trails only Derrick Brooks (11) and Warren Sapp (7) for the most by a Buccaneer.

Evans opted not to participate in last year’s Pro Bowl Games, but he makes it back on the NFC roster this year after reaching the 1,000-yard receiving mark for an NFL-record-tying 11th straight season. 

Mike Evans Overcame A Lot To Make His Sixth Pro Bowl

It’s quite the feat for Mike Evans to earn another Pro Bowl nod given both his slow start to the 2024 season and the midseason hamstring injury that cost him three and a half games.

Before the injury, Evans had 26 catches for 335 yards and six touchdowns. After returning in Week 12, he led the league the rest of the way with 669 receiving yards. That culminated with one of the moments of the year, when he made a 9-yard catch in the waning seconds of the Bucs’ Week 18 win over the Saints to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the 11th straight year, tying Jerry Rice’s NFL record.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

It took some big-time performances for Evans to make up ground in his pursuit of another 1,000-yard season. He went for 118 yards in an overtime win at Carolina in Week 13 and 159 in a road win over the Chargers in Week 15, and in the other five games down the stretch, he was remarkably consistent, posting 68, 69, 69, 97 and 89 yards.

Evans also hauled in five more touchdowns down the stretch to finish the year with 11, which marked the sixth time in his 11-year career that he finished with double-digit receiving touchdowns. It was the fourth time he’s done so in the last five years, too.

Not to mention, Evans’ 11 receiving touchdowns tied him for the fourth-most in the league with Ravens tight end Mark Andrews.

Mike Evans Isn’t Showing Signs Of Slowing Down

When Mike Evans was set to hit free agency last offseason, there was a brief moment in time when the impossible seemed possible and that he wouldn’t be finishing out his career with the Bucs. Thankfully for Tampa Bay, Evans and the Buccaneer fan base, the 2014 No. 7 overall pick decided that remaining with the team that drafted him is what he wanted to do.

Bucs WR Mike Evans Photo by: USA Today

Outside of the fact that Evans is a team legend, fan favorite and first-class person, part of the reason general manager Jason Licht and his front office staff felt comfortable inking the then-30-year-old to a two-year, $41 million deal with $29 million guaranteed was the fact that Evans hadn’t shown any signs of slowing down in his age-30 season.

That deal more than paid off in 2024, as Evans also didn’t show any signs of slowing down in his age-31 season. He may have missed three and a half games, but he still finished with 74 catches for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns in the 13.5 games he did play. Not only that, but Evans went on to total seven catches on seven targets for 92 yards and a touchdown in the NFC Wild Card Round against the Commanders.

His 2024 performance at age 31 may even have the Bucs in a position where they might want to sign him to a contract extension this offseason. Not only would it lock him in for another year beyond 2025, but it would also help the team’s cap situation, as Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo has outlined.

For now, though, it’s worth taking the time to recognize the fact that Mike Evans is a six-time Pro Bowler and he will be joining both Tristan Wirfs and Vita Vea in Orlando for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games.