When he entered the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans had Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick as his quarterbacks. But he got an enormous upgrade when it comes to quarterbacks when the team signed Tom Brady two seasons ago. "It's been an unbelievable last two seasons," Evans said, per NFL.com, adding that he never imagined that he would get an opportunity to play with Brady, whom he called the “greatest athlete in sports history.” With Brady leading the charge, the Buccaneers captured their first Super Bowl trophy since 2002 with a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Before Brady’s arrival, the Buccaneers had missed the playoffs for 12 straight seasons. The Pro Bowl wideout said Brady instilled a lot of things in the team and the Buccaneers will continue to implement them moving forward. “But like I said (Brady), instilled things in us, work ethic, making sure we're on top of our game, week in and week out,” said Evans, adding that Brady also helped them make sure that their bodies are healthy. “He definitely taught us that these last two years, and we've just got to keep it going,” he said.
Evans won’t lobby Bucs to pursue particular QB
Moving forward, Evans said he won’t lobby the Buccaneers front office to pursue any quarterback to replace Brady in case he decides to stay retired.
Just recently, Brady said he would say never to the possibility of returning to the NFL. Brady still has a one-year deal with the Buccaneers, who signed him to a contract extension last offseason. While the Buccaneers have Kyle Trask as quarterback, general manager Jason Licht said the team will look for a big-name veteran in the free-agent market, like what they did two years ago when they signed Brady.
Evans said Trask is a talented guy and he’s hoping that he could have a big leap in the upcoming season. But Evans said he has no idea what the team is up to so he would just be ready to catch passes from any quarterback that the Buccaneers would bring in. "I don't know where we are going to go, but whoever it is, I'll be ready," he said.
Evans threw Brady’s final touchdown pass to stands
In their 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Evans caught Brady’s final touchdown pass of his 22-year NFL career. "It'll be memorable down the line," Evans said, referring to his 55-yard touchdown connection with Brady. The problem is, the ball is nowhere to be found after Evans threw it to the stands, like what he did with Brady’s 600th touchdown pass. But Evans said that he was unaware that Brady would announce his retirement days after that game. "I didn't know he was going to retire," Evans explained.
