Could Jets Sign Bucs WR Evans?

Is it possible that the New York Jets will participate heavily in free agency and sign Mike Evans, one of the best receivers available this offseason? Pro Football Focus recently published an article outlining possible destinations for the best quarterbacks and receivers who will be available as free agents this winter. The article made this suggestion. “The New York Jets need more receiving talent opposite Garrett Wilson, and this move is effectively the inverse of the above: Evans takes a bit less but joins Aaron Rodgers as he tries to replicate the Tom Brady run in Tampa,” writes PFF.

Evans is still among the best receivers in the game at the age of thirty. Despite Brady’s retirement last offseason, the former Texas A&M Aggie is coming off of his tenth consecutive season with over 1,000 receiving yards and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Playing in all 17 games last season, Evans accumulated 1255 yards and a league-high 13 touchdowns on 79 receptions for

the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The young Wilson already shares a receiver room with him, so adding him would make the

Rodgers’ reunion team one of the best in the league. Now that OverTheCap

projects that Evans will have just $4 million in leftover contract space, it is

doubtful that the Jets will be significant players for Evans. That doesn’t mean

they can’t, though, make some moves to free up more cap space.

For instance, the Jets could make two trades and free about $20 million in cap space. by rearranging defensive tackle

Quinnen Williams’ and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley’s contracts. They may

restructure Laken Tomlinson’s contract to free up an additional $8.5 million if

that isn’t enough to sign Evans. Although signing Evans to play alongside Rodgers

and Wilson is an appealing idea, the offensive line has long-standing needs, so

this could remain a pipe dream rather than a reality.