With wide receiver Mike Evans entering the final year of his contract, discussions surrounding his future at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are becoming more amplified ahead of the new season.
Now his agent, Deryk Gilmore, has issued a statement to NFL Network Insider Mike Garofolo stating that he would cut off contract talks on Saturday, September 9, the day before the Buccaneers first game of the 2023 season if no deal can be reached.
"Despite our efforts over the past two years, and the professionalism of Bucs General Manager, Jason Licht, and Assistant General Manager, Mike Greenberg, we have not received an offer to stay in Tampa," Gilmore said in the statement.
"This is disappointing to Mike as he sees other teams step up to keep key pieces and players that are important to their organizations. Many players with his status would have held out of camp to not risk injury, but Mike has continued practicing hard, as always, because he puts his team first.
"When you have a player that will be a Hall of Famer and still has four to six more years to make an impact in the league, you move Heaven and Earth to keep him on your team, and we would hope ownership feels the same way.
"We have been working on extending Mike's career with the Bucs for over a year, and we want the fans to know this is not a tactic, and the ball is in the owner's court.
"That said, we are giving the Bucs until the start of the regular season to make him a Buc for Life, and if that cannot happen, 100 percent of Mike's focus will be on football and his future and where he can continue to make an impact."
There does not appear to be any reason as to why contract negotiations have stalled with Evans not doing anything to disturb the status quo during training camp and preseason, and according to Gilmore he is someone who is keen to stay in South Florida.
If Evans was to leave the Buccaneers once his contract expires, he would be a huge miss to the franchise after being one of five players to pass 10,000-plus receiving yards and 80-plus receiving touchdowns during his first nine seasons in the NFL. The four other players to achieve that feat are Hall of Famers Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison and Calvin Johnson.
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