Latest news with #MikeEvans
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Mike Evans odds to win 2025 NFL MVP
Mike Evans is +10000 to win the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award in 2025, which ranks him 17th in the league. There are two futures wagers available for him in total -- you can find more details in this article. He was targeted 7.9 times per game last season, collecting 1,004 yards receiving plus 11 TDs. Watch the NFL on Fubo! Mike Evans futures odds NFL odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Wednesday at 9:48 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Mike Evans 2024 game log Get Tampa Bay Buccaneers gear at Fanatics!
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Buccaneers star wide receiver Mike Evans eager to 'put on a show' as he seeks record-setting season
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mike Evans streaked into the secondary, cut outside and leaped to catch a perfect post-corner toss from Baker Mayfield. Fans at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' indoor practice facility roared. They're used to Evans making all the plays but No. 13 still manages to impress everyone watching. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver makes it look so effortless the way he glides after the ball. His routes are smooth and precise, his hands soft. At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, he has a powerful frame so he can outmuscle defenders or outfinesse them when he needs to. Evans is the only player in NFL history to start his career with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Only Jerry Rice had that many at any point. Evans is aiming for 12 in a row in a year when the Buccaneers celebrate the franchise's 50th season. There are no signs the 31-year-old is slowing down and his team goals are bigger than his personal ones. 'I'm just happy that we have a really great team and we're using this training camp to put everything together to have one of the best seasons for the 50th,' Evans said Tuesday. 'I'm excited to put on a great show for y'all.' At a position known for players with look-at-me personalities — Tyreek Hill, Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson — Evans lets his performance do most of the talking. He's quiet, humble and community-oriented. Evans is a four-time NFL Walter Payton Man of The Year nominee for the work he does along with his wife, Ashli, through their foundation, which empowers youth, encourages education and stands against domestic violence. Evans joined the Buccaneers in 2014 as the seventh overall pick and has become one of the greatest players in franchise history. Evans and Chris Godwin were a big reason why Tom Brady chose Tampa Bay in 2020 and the Buccaneers ended up winning a Super Bowl that season. From catching passes from Josh McCown and Mike Glennon as a rookie to Jameis Winston to Brady to Baker Mayfield, Evans continues to produce. He has 836 career catches for 12,684 yards and 105 touchdowns. Evans missed three games last season due to injury and didn't reach 1,000 yards until he caught a 9-yard pass on the final play of a 27-19 victory over the Saints that the Buccaneers needed to secure their fourth straight NFC South title. The reaction from Evans' teammates and the fans after that catch showed how much he's loved. 'He always has (put the team first),' Mayfield said afterward. 'That's why you love him. That's why we appreciate having him. We're lucky to have him and he's underappreciated throughout the media, the league and he's one of one. He deserves that. Obviously, you saw the stadium erupt, the sideline erupt. You can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him.' Some veteran players are careful about mentoring young guys who will eventually replace them. Not Evans. Or Godwin for that matter. The Buccaneers drafted wideout Emeka Egbuka in the first round out of Ohio State. They selected Tez Johnson from Oregon in the seventh round. 'It's constant. They're just so fortunate from Tez to 'Mek' (Egbuka) to Garrett (Greene) to be able to learn from them,' Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard said. 'We just had a walk through this morning and we can coach it up, but Chris and Mike were coaching up the concept just as much as myself and (wide receivers coach) 'B-Mac' (Bryan McClendon) were. And that's just on the field — I can't imagine what they talk about off the field on how to be a pro and how to conduct themselves. They couldn't have come into a better environment for people to learn from.' ___ AP NFL:
USA Today
7 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
How open is the Buccaneers' Super Bowl window ahead of the 2025 season?
For the past five years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been a postseason fixture. Now, entering the 2025 season, the question is no longer whether they're good. It's whether they're great enough to win another Super Bowl. And, just as importantly, how long their window to do so might stay open. The short answer is yes; the window is still open. But it's not wide, and it may not be for long. What keeps the window cracked is stability and stars. Baker Mayfield has emerged as a reliable franchise quarterback, playing the best football of his career under the Buccaneers' system. He's under contract through 2026. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. remain one of the most productive wide receiver duos in the league, and the offense returns all 11 starters for 2025. If new coordinator Josh Grizzard can maintain offensive efficiency, Tampa Bay should again be in the top tier of NFC offenses. Defensively, the Bucs have made smart moves to remain competitive. Antoine Winfield Jr. is in his prime. Vita Vea anchors the line. Veteran Haason Reddick was signed to help with edge pressure. And in the 2025 draft, they added young difference-makers in Jacob Parrish, Elijah Roberts, and Benjamin Morrison, hoping to accelerate a soft transition on that side of the ball. But here's the catch: many of the players keeping the window open are aging, nearing the end of their contracts, or both. Lavonte David is on what may be his final deal. Evans is signed through this season, but his long-term future is uncertain. And Mayfield, while currently cost-effective, could quickly shift into high-end cap territory if his performance justifies it. Financial flexibility will be tested by 2026. Roster turnover is inevitable. And unless young players like Cade Otton and Emeka Egbuka take star-level steps, the talent gap between Tampa Bay and elite NFC teams could yes, the Super Bowl window is still open, but it depends on how well the Bucs draft, manage the cap, and develop a new generation of Buccaneers.
Reuters
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Bucs WR Chris Godwin no guarantee Week 1
July 23 - Slot receiver Chris Godwin is on the physically unable to perform list and it's too early for Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles to declare his status for Week 1 of the regular season in September. Godwin, 29, is itching to get back on the field. He spent the past nine months working to be ready, rehabbing from a dislocated ankle and additional damage in his lower leg. He was lost for the season in a 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the team's seventh game of the season while on pace for another 100-catch season. He wrapped up 2024 with 50 receptions for 576 yards and five touchdowns. "He's coming along great," Bowles said. "He's on track. We've got to see what the process is for him to get out on the field and do some things," Bowles added. "We'll continue to listen to the doctors and the trainers. He's in great spirits, as well. Again, I don't have a timeline on that, but hopefully it'll be soon." The offensive system in Tampa is likely to be largely the same but there is a transition at offensive coordinator for the third consecutive year. Josh Grizzard was promoted from passing game coordinator to replace new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen. Coen was hired before the 2024 season, replacing 2023 offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Canales was hired as head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2024. Mike Evans is back as the No. 1 receiver for the Bucs. Rookie Emeka Egbuka and 2024 rookie Jalen McMillan are vying for snaps with Godwin's return date uncertain. Grizzard said last week in an interview on WFLA that McMillan was in a "good spot." "I think that where (McMillan) left last season and the progress he showed on and off the field, and you could see that carry over into the spring with not having Chris out there and bringing Emeka along and him showing Emeka the ropes -- then his ability to just do that and be himself and really just take off where he left off, then I think that would be huge if we were just going to actually circle one," Grizzard said. "But you know how it is: At the end of the day, it takes all 11. And he's in a good spot." --Field Level Media
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Buccaneers have lofty goals as they kick off training camp for franchise's 50th season
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The four-time defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lofty goals entering the franchise's 50th season. They want to celebrate their golden year with their third Vince Lombardi trophy. Every team hopes to win the Super Bowl, of course, but it's more realistic for some than others. Count the Buccaneers among those who should be considered legitimate contenders even though they don't get much attention. Tampa Bay is tied with Chicago for the 14th-best Super Bowl odds, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. 'I know we can get it done,' veteran linebacker Lavonte David said Wednesday. 'I feel like we fell short last year, I feel like we would have had a great run at it last year, honestly. We just fell short, and definitely unfortunate, but probably one of the main reasons why I came back, and I know what we are capable of and I know what we can do. We have the talent to do it, and we have the mindset to do it. So, we just got to put it all together and I always say, 'Offense just do their thing, defense we just have to take care of it.' We have just got to do a better job defensively, and I think we'll get to the promised land if we do that.' With Baker Mayfield turning into a top-tier quarterback and dynamic playmakers like Mike Evans and Bucky Irving around him, the Buccaneers have an offense that can compete with the best. Mayfield last season became just the fourth player in NFL history to have 4,000 yards passing, 40 touchdowns and a completion percentage over 70. Evans flashed midseason form when training camp kicked off with a morning practice. But with Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders watching from the bleachers, Antoine Winfield Jr. and the defense made more big plays for a unit that's looking for more takeaways. 'It's just good to see him healthy,' coach Todd Bowles said of Winfield, an All-Pro in 2023 who missed eight games last year. 'I'm not going to put too much into the first day — we're in shorts and T-shirts getting acclimated. He made some plays in shorts and a T-shirt that I know he can make in pads. I was just happy to see him moving around.' Sanders, who is the head coach at Colorado, was in town to see his son Shilo. The Buccaneers signed safety Shilo Sanders as an undrafted free agent to add depth in the secondary. His younger brother, Shedeur, was selected in the fifth round by the Browns. He's competing for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland. The Buccaneers finished 10-8 last season, including a 23-20 home loss to Washington in the playoffs. The Commanders ended up reaching the NFC championship game. General manager Jason Licht upgraded the offense in the offseason by re-signing wide receiver Chris Godwin, who is still recovering from a severe ankle injury, and drafting Ohio State wideout Emeka Egbuka 19th overall. He bolstered the defense by signing veteran edge rusher Haason Reddick and drafting cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison (second round) and Jacob Parrish (third round) and edge David Walker (fourth round). Tampa opened camp with All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs sidelined after having knee surgery earlier this month. Bowles is optimistic about Wirfs and Godwin returning sooner than later. ___ AP NFL:
