Buccaneers' Mike Evans: Could stay in Tampa

Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen made it clear Tuesday that he's hopeful the team will re-sign Evans, an impending free agent, Greg Auman of Fox Sports reports.

Evans and quarterback Baker Mayfield have expiring contracts, and wide receiver Chris Godwin is scheduled for $20 million in non-guaranteed compensation for the final year of his deal in 2024. The possibility of significant change can't be ignored, but Coen's opening press conference left little doubt that part of his motivation for taking the Tampa Bay job was an expectation that the team's core playmakers would be retained. The former Rams and University of Kentucky offensive coordinator talked about how much easier it is to design an offense with a downfield, perimeter threat like Evans, and Coen also mentioned that he plans to move Godwin back to the slot as his primary alignment. A franchise tag for Evans would cost $28.4 million -- 120 percent of his 2023 cap charge -- while Mayfield's tag number likely would be around $35 million. The Buccaneers have a third candidate for the tag in 25-year-old safety Antoine Winfield, whose salary would be about $17 million. Re-signing Evans first would help the team's short-term cap flexibility, allowing the Buccaneers to shift much of his $12.2 million cap hit from void years into future seasons.