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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aggressively tried to keep future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans from testing free agency.
The team was ready to let Evans see what other offers he could get just a few weeks ago, but then changed course and made some strong offers to keep him in town.
However, Evans appeared to have made up his mind that he wanted a change of scenery. He even laid out the criteria he was looking for in his new team.
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“Mike Evans will limit his choices to a handful of teams in part because of his criteria,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported. “He wants a quarterback he believes in, a chance at a Super Bowl, a top-shelf offensive coordinator and the promise of high-volume touches. Only so many teams fit that mold.”
Evans ultimately agreed to terms on a three-year, $60 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday during the league’s legal tampering window, and immediately, social media was flooded with people looking to place blame.
“Sadly, this [news] speaks loudly about Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles,” Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus tweeted.
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Several fans agreed with Sikkema’s assessment, pointing the finger squarely at Mayfield for playing a large role in Evans’ decision to look for a new team.
“100%. Seemed like he wasn’t on the same page as Baker, whom also often targeted other players,” one fan stated.
“[He] doesn’t believe in Baker, Baker sucked the second half of the season,” another fan stated.
“[Expletive] nailed it. It's not just Todd ‘Toilet’ Bowles, it's Baker and his inconsistencies and horrible ball placement at times. I think Todd gets fired by the end of the season and the OC gets promoted,” a third fan exclaimed.
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“More about Baker if the report is true he wanted to play with a QB he believes in and more targets,” one user noted.
“Short of landing a mastermind offensive head coach, not sure Evans would have come back regardless with Baker at QB,” remarked another user.
“Baker made their franchise HOF guy want to leave whewww,” scoffed another fan.
After starting the year in the MVP conversation, Mayfield’s performance dropped off.
Rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka also seemingly surpassed Evans as Mayfield’s favorite target (he was targeted 127 times in 17 games), and with Chris Godwin, Tez Johnson, and Sterling Shephard all getting a decent amount of targets as well, it’s possible Evans lost faith in Mayfield to feed him the ball consistently.
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