INTRO: I’ve got lots of analysis, insight and some inside Bucs scoop to share with you from Indianapolis this week as the Pewter Report staff has been covering the NFL Scouting Combine. Let’s get to it! Enjoy!

FAB 1. Inside Scoop On Mike Evans’ Future In Tampa Bay

I hope I’m wrong, but I get the feeling that legendary Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans could be leaving in free agency. I had the chance to speak to multiple sources in Indianapolis who said that Evans’ mind is not made up yet, but that he’s closer to leaving Tampa Bay this year than he was in 2024.

That’s when he was flirting with the idea of possibly playing with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City or playing for Houston, which is an hour away from Galveston, his hometown in Texas. And let’s not forget that the Bucs were coming off a 9-8 record in 2023, as well as a 32-9 demolishing of the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs. Tampa Bay also took a tie with Detroit into the fourth quarter before losing the NFC Divisional playoff game.

In 2024, the arrow was pointing up, especially with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who was coming from Los Angeles and was bringing Sean McVay’s successful Rams-based offense with him. Can the same be said now about the Bucs?

Is the arrow still pointing up in Tampa Bay after a disappointing 8-9 record that included losing the division title to Carolina, missing the playoffs as a result, and a two-year decline of Todd Bowles’ defense?

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

Evans, who turns 33 in August, wants another shot at winning a Super Bowl. Does he think that can happen soon enough in Tampa Bay?

But it’s more than just chasing another ring. Evans’ agent, Deryk Gilmore, said this in a recent radio interview with Tom Krasniqi on The Drive With TKras on WDAE 95.7 FM:

“I think this is a young man who loves, more than most fans probably understand, he loves to compete and to win,” Gilmore said. “He loves to compete and to win. This is not him sitting there saying, ‘I want to get paid’ and all that stuff. You always want to get paid what you’re worth. But that’s not going to be on the [forefront].

“We want to sit down and go through and be like, ‘OK, where can he accomplish all his goals?’ Which would be to win a Super Bowl, to break records. That’s gonna be extremely important. The offense.”

Evans wants to win a Super Bowl and break records. So what records could Evans possibly break as he enters his 13th season in the league?

This is really, really key in Evans’ decision-making process. Here’s what I’ve learned this week in Indianapolis during the NFL Scouting Combine.

Evans, who probably has two to three years left to play in the league at a high level, is not a high-volume receiver in terms of receptions compared to other great NFL receivers in history. So he’ll never be a top 10 receiver in terms of catches.

Bucs WR Mike Evans Photo by: USA Today

Evans has 866 career catches and currently ranks 31st all-time. He has averaged 72 receptions per season. With two more years hitting his season average, Evans will have 1,010 career receptions – and he’ll surpass his idol, Randy Moss, who has 982 catches. But that will only place Evans in 17th place all-time.

Evans wants to be known as a top 10 receiver in NFL history when he ultimately retires and heads to the Hall of Fame. That can happen with two more 1,000-yard seasons.

Evans already ranks 21st in receiving yardage with 13,052. With 2,000 more receiving yards, Evans will be inside the top 10 with 15,052 yards. That would place him seventh overall – ahead of Tim Brown (14,934) and behind Tony Gonzalez (15,127).

Two more 1,000-yard seasons would give him 13 for his career, trailing only Jerry Rice, who had 14 in his illustrious NFL career.

Evans is already a top 10 receiver in terms of receiving touchdowns with 108. With 20 more touchdown catches, Evans would be tied with Marvin Harrison for fifth all-time.

The legacy that Evans cares about at this stage of his career is not necessarily going wire-to-wire in red and pewter. It’s finishing his career with enough of a bang that he’s inside the top 10 in receiving yards so that he could be not just a Hall of Famer, but a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Evans already has a chance at being a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Yet finishing his career in the top 10 in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns would cement that.

Evans has never been a diva receiver or a ball hog. He’s been a team-first guy who only wants to win. He’s never pouted when he didn’t get enough targets in a game. Evans has also never held out for more money, and has never asked to be among the top receivers in terms of salary.

Even though Evans is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning of it, he doesn’t want to just be a complementary piece on offense. He wants to be the focal point of a passing attack.

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

Why? Because he can still dominate – evidenced by his six-catch, 132-yard performance against Atlanta on Thursday Night Football in his return to action from a broken collarbone. After receiving 12 targets versus the Falcons, Evans received nine the next week against the Panthers, followed by seven versus the Dolphins and just two against the Panthers again in the season finale.

Yet Evans totaled just 12 catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s final three games. As a result, I don’t think Evans shed a tear when offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was fired.

So the question for Evans with regards to Tampa Bay isn’t just whether or not he thinks Jason Licht and Bowles can fix the defense enough to where the Bucs can truly compete for a Super Bowl. It’s also about how many targets he’ll be receiving in Zac Robinson’s offense.

Robinson’s offensive approach is going to be much more akin to that of Coen from the 2024 season. That would be great news for the offense in general, as Coen’s offense averaged nearly 30 points per game.

But remember the hot start that Chris Godwin Jr. got off to that season with 50 catches for 576 yards and five touchdowns? That came at the expense of Evans, as Coen’s offense ran through the slot receiver position.

Evans had just 335 yards and six touchdowns on 26 catches before suffering a hamstring injury against Baltimore in Week 7. At that time, Evans was only on pace to average 813 yards prior to his injury.

Evans was able to return to action after missing three games and finish with 1,004 yards, with the final necessary yardage coming on the final offensive play of the regular season. That also came with Evans being the focal point of the passing game over the final seven games with Godwin absent from the lineup and sidelined due to a fractured ankle.

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So is Robinson’s offense going to feature Evans or feature Godwin? Or perhaps even second-year receiver Emeka Egbuka, last year’s first-round pick?

This is something Evans would likely want to factor into his decision-making process.

“For him to know that whoever is gonna be his play-caller, whoever is gonna be his coordinator, whoever is gonna be his quarterback, that they have the ability to really thrive and make things happen,” Gilmore said.

It should be noted that Gilmore didn’t rule out a return to the Bucs at all, so Tampa Bay is still in play. But there are a couple of factors that could be working against the Bucs. Find out what they are in FAB 2.

FAB 2. Bucs’ Depth At WR May Work Against Them With Mike Evans

You can’t fault general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles for selecting wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in the first round of the draft last year. Chris Godwin Jr. was coming off a serious broken ankle injury that would see him miss the first three weeks of action, and Mike Evans was set to turn 32 in August as he entered his contract year.

With Egbuka catching the game-winning touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s first two wins of the year – at Atlanta and at Houston – just imagine how bad the Bucs’ record would be without the Ohio State product. Egbuka wound up leading the team in catches (63), yards (938) and touchdowns (six) as a rookie. And seventh-round draft pick Tez Johnson also proved to be worth investing in with 28 catches for 322 yards and five touchdowns in 2025.

Bucs WRs Jalen McMillan, Chris Godwin, Tez Johnson, Sterling Shepard and Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There were times when both Godwin and Mike Evans missed multiple games this season and Egbuka and Johnson were the starting wide receivers, especially with Jalen McMillan out for most of the year with a broken neck. Those two receivers plus the return of McMillan, a third-round pick in 2024 who scored eight touchdowns as a rookie, give Tampa Bay some young, potent weapons in the passing game moving forward.

So drafting those receivers was definitely right the move – not just for the future, but also for the 2025 season given the injuries that the position.

But having that talented trio, plus Godwin, who turned 30 on February 27, for at least another season could actually work against the Bucs when it comes to trying to retain free agent Mike Evans.

At this stage of his career Evans wants targets – as many as he can get to help him climb the all-time receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns lists to bolster his case as a potential first-ballot Hall of Famer. There are a lot of mouths that Baker Mayfield must feed in the Bucs’ passing game and only one football to go around.

Bucs WRs Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. Photo by: USA Today

It’s one thing to back-burner Johnson given his seventh-round status. But with Godwin making $22 million this year, Egbuka and his first-round draft status and the sheer talent of McMillan, Evans won’t be the primary receiver in Tampa Bay with Mayfield primarily throwing to the guy who’s open.

New Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson could make quite a sales pitch to the future Hall of Famer about how his offense will run through Evans. Just look at the numbers that 6-foot-4, 215-pound receiver Drake London put up at X and in the slot in Atlanta over the past two seasons.

London caught 100 passes for 1,271 (12.7 avg.) and nine touchdowns in 2024, his first season in Robinson’s offense. Although he missed the final five games of the season due to a knee injury, London hauled in 68 catches for 919 yards (13.5 avg.) and seven TDs last year.

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The only problem with that argument is Atlanta’s wide receiving corps as a whole is not nearly as talented as Tampa Bay’s. After London, the second-most productive wide receiver for the Falcons was Darnell Mooney, who had just 32 catches for 443 yards (13.8 avg.) and one score.

NFL insider Jason La Canfora said there will be at least three teams courting Evans in free agency – the 49ers, Chargers and Patriots. All three have good, proven play-callers in Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel and Josh McDaniels, respectively. All three teams have good, young quarterbacks as well in Brock Purdy, Justin Herbert and Drake Maye.

With San Francisco set to move on from Brandon Aiyuk, Los Angeles possibly parting ways with Keenan Allen and New England only having an aging Stefon Diggs, all three teams could use an alpha, No. 1 wide receiver. If Evans were to go to any of those teams, he would be the featured wideout – possibly more so than he would be in Tampa Bay this year with the logjam at receiver.

By the way, all three were playoff teams last year, with the Patriots making it to the Super Bowl.

Bucs WRs Tez Johnson and Emeka Egbuka – Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

And finally, wasn’t it odd that Gilmore just thew out a statement about Tampa Bay’s young and crowded receiving corps – unprompted – in his interview with Krasniqi?

“I will tell you this, something Mike wanted me to tell everybody from him,” Gilmore said. “That wide receiver room has elite talent in it. There is so much talent at the wide receiver position there. There is a ton of talent. He loves the kids – I hate to use the word kids, but they’re all younger – and he wants to see them thrive. I do know that.”

As Pewter Report leaves the Combine on Saturday evening, I believe there is a less than 50% chance that Evans returns to Tampa Bay in free agency – let’s say 45%. I get the sense that the Bucs might also be feeling the same way right now.

FAB 3. Inside Bucs Scoop On The Draft

Here is some inside scoop when it comes to the Bucs draft and some of the draft prospects who the team may be targeting.

• It came as no surprise that the Bucs used at least 21 of the team’s 45 formal interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine on inside linebackers, edge rushers and defensive tackles given the team’s overwhelming need to upgrade the talent and depth at those positions on defense.

But what was a surprise was how the team used seven formal interviews on tight ends, including Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq, a first-rounder, and Ohio State’s Max Clare and Stanford’s Sam Roush, who are two potential Day 2 prospects. That was one fewer formal interview than the Bucs used on inside linebackers and edge rushers, and one more formal than was used on defensive tackles.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – photo by: USA Today

What does that tell me? The team is likely preparing to move on from starting tight end Cade Otton, who is slated to be a free agent. Otton is a serviceable tight end who was fine on his rookie deal as a former fourth-round pick. But the thought he could make between $5 million to possibly $10 million per year in free agency seems too rich for the Bucs.

Not that just, but blocking tight end Payne Durham, who isn’t much of a receiving threat, is entering a contract year. And former seventh-round pick Devin Culp hasn’t progressed enough as a blocker and special teams contributor to see the field more than just occasionally over the last two years.

There is a sense that the Bucs aren’t thrilled with their entire tight end group and would like to see upgrades across the depth chart.

Having said that, expect the Bucs to re-sign tight end Ko Kieft to a one-year league minimum deal due to his blocking ability and special teams prowess. Kieft won’t be a lock to make the roster, but he would get a chance to compete in training camp.

• The Bucs might also be prepping for losing Mike Evans in free agency with the wide receivers they have interviewed at the Combine. On Friday, Tampa Bay had a formal interview with 6-foot-3, 195-pound Georgia State receiver Ted Hurst, who had a great showing at the Senior Bowl. Hurst, a projected Day 3 receiver, is a big X (split end) receiver, which is the position Evans has primarily played for the past 12 years.

The Bucs also had informal interviews at the Combine with other X receivers, such as BYU’s 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver Chase Roberts, Texas Tech’s 6-foot-3, 190-pound Reggie Virgil, Indiana’s 6-foot-2, 213-pound Elijah Sarratt and Ole Miss’ 6-foot-2, 210-pound De’Zhaun Stribling.

•  The Bucs don’t think Ohio State inside linebacker Sonny Styles will make it to No. 15. He’s a much better pro prospect than former Bucs linebacker Devin White was coming out of LSU in 2019, and he was drafted fifth overall.

Ohio State LB Sonny Styles – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Joseph Maiorana

With his size, speed, elite traits and athletic testing, as well as really good production, it wouldn’t be a surprise to Styles go in the Top 5, perhaps to Tennessee at No. 4. New Titans head coach Robert Saleh was the 49ers defensive coordinator for years where All-Pro middle linebacker Fred Warner ran his defense.

I would be surprised if Styles makes it out of the Top 10 given how he dominated the athletic testing at the Combine.

• Don’t count the Bucs as being surprised by the Combine numbers that Texas Tech middle linebacker Jacob Rodriguez put up on Thursday night. Those numbers didn’t elevate Rodriguez’s stock into the second round. He was already a second-round prospect in their eyes coming off a dominant showing at the Senior Bowl.

The player who has helped themselves the most following the Senior Bowl and fantastic Combine testing is Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis, who is one of the better coverage defenders in this draft. The problem is that he is a confounding draft evaluation because he’s a liability in the run game due to his 6-foot, 220-pound frame, but he excels in coverage.

Louis is more of a big slot safety or overhang linebacker than he is a box linebacker. As a result, he’s not an ideal scheme fit in Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh LB Kyle Louis – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Charles LeClaire

• Las Vegas is talking out of both sides of its mouth right now. General manager John Spytek was on record saying that he has a great relationship with Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby, and how he’s in the business of collecting great football players with Crosby being one of those. The insinuation was that the Raiders are keeping the 29-year old edge rusher.

Yet reports suggest that Crosby could be had for two first-round picks and a player, which was the same level of compensation that Dallas got by trading Pro Bowl edge rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay. That’s the asking price, but the Raiders might not be able to fetch that with Crosby coming off knee surgery and being three years older than Parsons.

Would the Bucs be interested in trading for Crosby? I’m sure an inquiry conversation between Jason Licht and Spytek, his protégé, will take place if it hasn’t yet. I don’t see Licht paying more than a first-round pick this year and a conditional third-round pick in 2027 that could become a second-rounder if Crosby posts double-digit sacks this year.

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Bob DeChiara

As for the player the Bucs could offer up in a trade, it could be safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who is set to earn $19.5 million in cash this year and have a $27 million cap hit whether he’s on Tampa Bay’s roster or not.

Trading wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. might make some sense on the surface given the fact he just turned 30 and is still recovering from a devastating ankle injury. But no team would want to acquire his $22 million guaranteed base salary, and the Bucs would not want to trade away Godwin if they happen to lose Mike Evans in free agency.

FAB 4. Bucs Get Damning Grade From 2025 NFLPA Report Card

As expected, the NFLPA’s team report card has been leaked to the media, despite a legal win from the NFL that was supposed to prohibit the NFLPA from doing so, according to a judge’s ruling.

ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler broke the news about this year’s report cards, which were based on responses from 1,759 players. All players who were on a 2025 roster at the time of the survey were eligible to participate, and it was conducted from Nov. 2 to Dec. 11.

The news is rather awful for the Bucs, which had the 29th-lowest grade based on their cumulative score comprised of tabulating the grades. Instead of looking at the grades in the order that they were presented, I’ve decided to group the categories by grades and then offer my commentary.

Strength Coaches: A
Weight Room: A-
General Manager: A-
Defensive Coordinator: A-

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

It’s noteworthy that general manager Jason Licht received an A-minus grade. Licht is known for having a great relationship with the players he drafts and acquires, plus he’s known to be a fair negotiator come contract time. So this comes as no surprise.

Yet the defensive coordinator grade of A-minus is a shocker. Who is the coordinator? Is it head coach Todd Bowles, who calls the plays? Or were the players voting for run game coordinator Larry Foote, a high-energy, likeable assistant? Or were they voting for George Edwards, the pass game coordinator? Given the fact that the Bucs defense was pretty bad last year, this comes as a complete surprise.

It’s also curious that former strength and conditioning coach Anthony Piroli, who was popular with the players, was fired – especially with the strength coaches getting an A-minus grade.

Offensive Coordinator: B
Head Coach: B
Position Coaches: B
Nutritionist/Dietician: B-

Bowles had the seventh-lowest grade in the NFL among the 32 head coaches. That’s not good. Also, Bowles and offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, the guy he fired, were given the exact same B grade by the players. Yet Grizzard was the problem?

Former Bucs OC Josh Grizzard and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Special Teams Coordinator: C+
Training Staff: C+
Training Room: C

Special teams got a C-plus? That’s it?! Seriously? Thomas McGaughey got fired because Tampa Bay’s special teams were actually worse than that. Maybe the players were giving McGaughey some credit for being a nice guy?

Food/Dining Area: D+
Treatment of Families: D

Team Ownership: D

Locker Room: D-

There’s no other way to look at this section other than its quite damning towards the Glazers. Not only did the Glazers get a D grade, but the two main components of the “daily living” the Glazers provide for the players at the facility – “food and lodging” (i.e. the food/dining area and the locker room) – were graded poorly.

The Bucs locker room is blah compared to the amenities that other teams have for their players. Yet I don’t see the Glazers being thrilled about the idea of pouring money into the locker room. And I’m not sure if it can be really expanded because of the configuration of the building.

And a D grade for treatment of families? Yikes.

Team Travel: F

Home Game Field: F-

Bucs co-chair Joel Glazer – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The fact that team travel gets an F grade is also an indictment on ownership. My guess is that it’s either the fact that the players believe the Bucs need a bigger plane so they can spread out more on flights, or it’s the hotels that the team chooses to stay at on the road. Or maybe it’s the food on the plane or the team meal at the hotel on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings?

The only other component to travel is the buses to and from the airport and to and from the stadium. Not much the Glazers can do there, as all teams use buses.

The turf at Raymond James Stadium used to receive one of the highest grades in the league back in the day. But now the field gets absolutely chewed up by USF football and two bowl games during the season – not to mention all the concerts at Ray-Jay where they have to roll up the grass field and remove it several times during football season. Team sources tell me they blame the field for several injuries this year. The players obviously agree.

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• What’s even worse for the Bucs’ leaked NFLPA report card is that the grades declined in several areas. Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes the difference a year can make – in the wrong direction, apparently.

• It’s interesting to note that the Bucs scheduled a formal interview with Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at the NFL Scouting Combine. Simpson, who is regarded to be a second-round pick, is the only QB Tampa Bay scheduled a formal interview with this year. For a full list of the Bucs’ Combine interviews, click this link.