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Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer
DETROIT — Moments after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ season ended with a 31-23 playoff divisional loss at the Detroit Lions, coach Todd Bowles said quarterback Baker Mayfield earned the right to return in 2024.
Mayfield, who was on a one-year deal with Tampa, has indicated he would like to return, as would wide receiver Mike Evans, who was unhappy at the start of the season over not getting a new contract before Week 1.
“He most definitely has,” Bowles said of Mayfield, who led the Bucs to a 10-9 record and an NFC South title in the franchise’s first year of the post-Tom Brady era. “Obviously, it’s too early to talk about that and business is business, but Baker had a hell of a year. We love him. The guys love him. And we’ll see what the future holds.”
General manager Jason Licht shared a lengthy hug with Mayfield outside the locker room, indicative of the organization’s feelings for the No. 1 pick-turned journeyman quarterback who was playing for his fourth team in two seasons.
There have been no talks on a new deal for Mayfield this season, but his representatives will meet with the Bucs in the offseason to discuss one.
“I love this group,” said Mayfield, whose 349 passing yards Sunday were the third most in a Buccaneers playoff game. “I said that all year. And it’s authentic. I mean that. It would mean a lot for me, to bring back a lot of key pieces, to get this back together, to get it to Year 2 in the system, you can make huge strides. I would love that.
“Obviously, who knows how it’s going to play out, but I can’t say enough about this organization and the opportunity they gave me this year. Just thankful, and I hope it works out.”
Licht has also said the team has plans to reach a new deal with Evans. The franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, receptions and total TDs, Evans finished with over 1,000 receiving yards for the 10th consecutive season — the only player in NFL history to achieve that feat.
Licht told ESPN that it “would mean everything for the franchise, ownership, all of us” to make Evans a Buccaneer for life, and the star wide receiver shared that sentiment.
“I’ve been on record saying how much I love this place and how much I want to be here,” said Evans, who had 147 receiving yards and a touchdown in the playoff game. “Not a lot of guys finish the one team, so that’ll be amazing if I get to do that. But we’ll see. I’m still trying to get over this loss.”
Evans and his agent, Deryk Gilmore, had set a Sept. 9 deadline on a getting a new deal done prior to the start of the 2023-24 regular season — or they said they would not negotiate until the offseason.
Sources told ESPN that the Bucs did not extend an offer prior to the deadline, which disappointed Evans.
Evans believes talks will happen after the Super Bowl.
“It’s meant a lot to me and my family,” Evans said of being a Buccaneer. “I didn’t grow up a Bucs fan or anything like that, but we’re lifelong Bucs fans no matter what happens. I love the city and I love the franchise.”
Wide receiver Chris Godwin said he hopes both players will return.
“It would be amazing,” Godwin said of Evans, who has played with him since he was drafted in 2017. “I think him not being here sounds and feels very, very weird. I don’t like that we got to this point. But hopefully we can keep this thing going.
“The person that Mike is, the player that he is, like obviously you hope that things would have been done earlier, but that’s the business side of it. We can’t control that. But again, I hope he’s back and I hope we get to do this thing again.”
On a potential return for Mayfield, Godwin said: “He fit right in. I think we had bunch of fighters — guys fighting through the same types of things — and I think he came in and fit the mold.
“I think we all love Baker and we have a lot of respect for him. We can’t control the business side of it, but we hope that they’ll be able to do it.”
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