Wide receiver Mike Evans is going to play this season. That’s what every single report indicates. It’s another opportunity for Evans to try and win his second Super Bowl, while also adding to his all-time career stats. The big story becomes where is he going to play?

Will it be back with the Bucs or a new team for the first time in what will be his 13th season?

Bucs fans obviously want Evans to return to Tampa. There might be a slight misconception that if Evans leaves, it would be because of money. That is NOT the case. If Evans goes, it’s because he goes to a team that he believes gives him the best chance to win a title more than Tampa Bay.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Bob Donnan

With that in mind, some fans have suggested that one way to prevent this from happening is for the Bucs to use franchise tag on Mike Evans, thus keeping him in Tampa Bay for another year. The window to use the franchise tag opened up on Monday and Tampa Bay will have a couple of weeks to decide on a player.

While on paper that would make sense to use it on Evans, the reality is that it is NOT going to happen. Don’t get your hopes up about it, and here’s why.

The Reason Mike Evans Won’t Get Franchise Tagged By Bucs

Mike Evans wants to play next season, but he doesn’t need to. He has built up enough equity in his career that he’s going into the Hall of Fame if he retired today. He’s also made plenty of money in his career and doesn’t need another bag, although he certainly deserves it if he’d like. So, if the Bucs attempted to block Evans from going to another team via the franchise tag, Evans can just counter that by electing to retire.

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

The Bucs can’t force Evans to play. And if he would legitimately rather not play than come back to Tampa Bay, than the team’s hands are tied. They’re not going to hold him hostage with the tag. Evans could sit out for a season and then elect to play the following season. Even if the Bucs retain his rights, the message would be clear at that point, and they’d likely trade him to another team for a day three draft pick. It would be similar to how the Bucs traded for Rob Gronkowski from the Patriots when he came out of retirement.

And of course, financially it doesn’t work out for Tampa Bay. Franchise tagging Evans would cost about $28 million. They paid Evans $21 million in what turned out to be the worst season of his career due to injury. This time they’re going to pay him $7 million more?

They wouldn’t be able to justify the move.

That’s the business side of it. The sentimental side of is that Jason Licht and the Bucs organization would never do this to Evans. Let’s remember that there is a lot of great history between Licht, Evans and the Bucs. Licht’s first ever draft pick was Mike Evans. They’ve each talked about how close they and their families are, too. Never would Licht do this to someone he cares so much about, even if it means Evans is out of town.

Optically, it wouldn’t be a good look for the Bucs either. Evans is the greatest offensive player in Bucs history. This is how he’s going to be treated? What kind of message does that deliver to the rest of the players on the roster who may think twice about returning to Tampa Bay in future offseasons? It’s an emotional situation to begin with, and that would make it worse.

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

To be fair, it would be shocking if the Bucs did this and there’s maybe a one percent chance that it does, but it’s something to keep in mind with free agency coming up. Evans isn’t just another player. He’s the longest-tenured Buc, a Super Bowl champion, and the face of the franchise for over a decade. Using the franchise tag on him would feel transactional. It would prioritize leverage over loyalty.

Pewter Report recently spoke about Mike Evans coming back for a 13th season and the chances he’s returning to the Bucs versus going to another team. Check out this video of our conversation and subscribe to our YouTube channel – PewterReportTV.