Let’s start by saying it won’t be possible to replace Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.
You can’t replace his leadership and you really can’t replace his production, with an NFL record 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards.
But Evans is almost certainly done for the regular season after breaking his collarbone in a loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 8. If the Buccaneers are truly going to be Super Bowl contenders, they’re going to have to find some way to replace some of what Evans brought to the team, both on and off the field.
ESPN, Bleacher Report and CBS Sports all agree on one player the Buccaneers should pursue — Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews.
Getting Andrews in exchange for something along the lines of a 2026 fifth round pick would be a steal for the Buccaneers. It would also reunite him with his best friend in quarterback and NFL MVP candidate Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield and Andrews played together at the University of Oklahoma from 2014 to 2017, including a shared redshirt year in 2014.
“Baltimore might prefer to retain every proven weapon in hopes of salvaging an injury-ravaged season, but Andrews is no longer the steady playmaker that he once was, and Isaiah Likely is already here as the future at tight end,” CBS Sports NFL reporter Cody Benjamin wrote on October 23. “Andrews is also set to become a free agent after the season, meaning both sides could benefit from an early split. He’d make for a nice secondary outlet for a contender.”
Andrews-Mayfield Was Electric Combo for Sooners
Hard core college football fans remember how electric it was to watch Mayfield and Andrews on the Sooners, where they went 34-6, made the College Football Playoff twice and won 3 Big 12 titles in 3 seasons.
In those 3 seasons, Andrews had 112 receptions for 1,765 yards and 22 touchdowns in 35 games. In their final season together in 2017, Andrews had 62 reception for 958 yards and 8 touchdowns and won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top collegiate tight end while Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy.
Before the Buccaneers faced the Ravens in Week 8 of the 2024 regular season, Mayfield spoke about their friendship.
“Even though Mark and I are best friends, him and I don’t talk in season,” Mayfield told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “He’s a weirdo. He can’t exactly separate friendship and football, so he struggles with that on a year-to-year basis. So there’s a few months at a time where we’re friends again. But for right now, no.”
Buccaneers Would Need to Modify Offense
Getting Andrews would also probably require the Buccaneers to modify their offense in order to get both Andrews and current starting tight end Cade Otton on the field together.
Otton has been one of Tampa Bay’s most consistent targets for Mayfield in the last 2 seasons, including a breakout year in 2024 with career highs of 59 receptions for 600 yards and 4 touchdowns in just 14 games.
Andrews, a 3-time Pro Bowler, had one of the greatest seasons for a tight end in NFL history in 2021 with 107 receptions for 1,361 yards — both franchise records — to go with 9 touchdowns.
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