Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans might have gotten more money on the free agent market next week. He might have gotten a chance to go back home, with Reliant Stadium in Houston only 52 miles from his hometown of Galveston.
Evans, who has never hit free agency, said the market was a “cool dream, but Tampa’s my home.”
Evans’ wife, Ashli, convinced him to stay put and give himself a shot at another dream — starting and finishing his career with the Buccaneers.
He signed a two-year, $41 million deal with Tampa Bay.
“I don’t want to say I was waiting for my wife to speak up, but she just planted it,’' Evans said Friday, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “These things are just like day and night. You have to think about it. We were thinking, and it just hit her and she said, ‘Maybe we should stay in Tampa, babe.’ I mean, I wanted to be in Tampa, and they offered me great money. It wasn’t about the money. I just wanted to see everything as a whole, and if we were going to get Baker [Mayfield] back and things like that. But I know I can play with whoever is at quarterback. Obviously, I hope it’s Baker.’'
Evans, 30, is the first player in NFL history to begin a career with 10 consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards receiving.
