Buccaneers' Bruce Arians shares big Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans predictions

Bruce Arians stepped down as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2021 season but still remains a trusted senior adviser to general manager Jason Licht.

Thus, Arians may know a thing or two about the futures of impending free agents such as quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans.

"I don't think we’re losing any of 'em," Arians recently told Ira Kaufman of JoeBucsFan about Tampa Bay's top pending free agents. "Mike wants to stay here and they’re gonna pay him. "I think Mayfield loves it here and is totally appreciative of the opportunity he found in Tampa. He loves the guys and the guys love him." 

Interestingly, the JoeBucsFan website suggested on Thursday that the chances of Mayfield and/or Evans staying with the Buccaneers "dropped" after it was learned that offensive coordinator Dave Canales was becoming the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. 

Canales helped Mayfield resurrect his career with Tampa Bay, and the 28-year-old understandably will look to cash in this offseason after he signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the team last year. Earlier this week, former agent and current CBS Sports NFL contracts and salary-cap expert Joel Corry mentioned that Mayfield could ink a deal similar to the four-year agreement reportedly worth up to $150M that Derek Carr received from the New Orleans Saints last March. Corry's scenario included the Buccaneers structuring Mayfield's contract in a way that would allow the team to re-sign Evans. 

Evans, meanwhile, turns 31 years old this summer but, per ESPN stats, finished this past regular season with a league-best 13 touchdown receptions (tied with Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins). Spotrac projects that Evans could sign a two-year contract with an average annual value of $27.628M, while A to Z Sports forecasts the Buccaneers star could want a three-year deal. 

According to Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network, retaining Mayfield's rights for 2024 via the franchise tag would cost the Buccaneers slightly less than $36M. To compare, Kevin Patra of the NFL's website noted this past Monday that tagging Evans would cost around $28.43M for next season. 

Mayfield seems the more likely of the two to be tagged due to his age, position and the way contracts are structured to keep teams below the salary cap.