The opening of free enterprise is nevertheless a few weeks away, however that may not cease gamers round the league from taking pictures their shot in an try to trap a new excessive profile teammate or two to town. Consider New England Patriots defensive end Matthew Judon one of the first this yr who has accomplished so publicly, calling on Patriots Nation to assist him in a sale pitch to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers five-time Pro Bowl extensive receiver, Mike Evans.
“Mr. 1000” references that Evans, a ten-year NFL veteran, has begun his profession with ten consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. It’s the longest such streak in NFL history. In addition to that eye-popping statistical nugget, it’s additionally really worth noting that Evans will enter his 11th NFL season with 94 profession touchdowns. With six more TD’s, Evans would turn out to be simply the 25th participant in NFL history with at least 100 touchdowns from scrimmage. Naturally, Patriots fans would love to see Evans attain that milestone whilst sporting a Pats uniform.
The Patriots may not be the only team in pursuit of Mike Evans this offseason. The Kansas City Chiefs are the contemporary having a bet favored to land Evans, and the Chicago Bears have been linked to the star broad receiver in view that the 2023 season used to be nonetheless ongoing.
One element that both Chicago and New England have going for them is boatloads of cap space. Most cap projections exhibit the Patriots going into free business enterprise with somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million of cap space, meaning New England would have more than sufficient area to sign Mike Evans along with a handful of others who could make meaningful improvements to a Patriots group that won just 4 games last season. The query from Mike Evans’ facet would in all likelihood be, “Well, who is playing quarterback?”
Patrick Mahomes resides in Kansas City, and that will be a giant part of the income pitch that the Chiefs would make. And even if the Bears wouldn’t be able to officially select Caleb Williams till a month after free agency, understanding that the #1 choose in the draft is on the way should entice Evans. For New England, the quarterback photo is not quite as clear. Will it be Drake Maye? Jayden Daniels? JJ McCarthy? Or perhaps even Justin Fields?
Other groups that have masses of cap area will be in the mix for Mike Evans too, and the Buccaneers in all likelihood may not let Evans walk without making an offer, but as of now, the Patriots are the solely group who have had a member of the crew out in the Twitterverse placing in hours as a recruiter.