
Evans has been around and done enough that his word matters.
Wide receiver is a position the Cincinnati Bengals know well. From Isaac Curtis, Cris Collinsworth and Carl Pickens to Chad Johnson, AJ Green, and the team’s current duo, the Bengals have drafted, developed, and retained some of the most talented wide receivers in NFL history.
One of the league’s current most talented wide receivers heading into the 2025 season is Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans. The 31-year-old is entering year 12 and has NEVER had a season in which he didn’t finish with at least 1,000 yards receiving. He’s been nominated as Second-Team All-Pro twice and has been voted to the Pro Bowl six times, and he’s got a Super Bowl ring to top it all off.
It’s not a stretch to say there’s a gold jacket in his future, but he’s not eligible for that until he’s been retired for five years, and he’s not retired yet.
To have that kind of career, you’d have to think you’re the best at what you do, and Evans does. There’s only one wide receiver, though, he’d consider as better than him, and that is Ja’Marr Chase.
“Ja’Marr Chase,” he said when asked by FOX Sports’ Greg Auman about his thoughts on the young wide receivers across the league. “He’s a guy where if you said he was better than me — I don’t think anybody’s better than me — but if you said him, I would understand. So Ja’Marr, Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, Drake (London).”
Chase is coming off a Tripe Crown season in which he led the league in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. The rare feat has only been accomplished 17 times since 1932 and only three times since 2000. Unfortunately, the Bengals were unable to capitalize on Chase’s record-setting season as they finished with a 9-8 record, narrowly missing the playoffs.
Now, Chase has been extended, as well as Tee Higgins, and is the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Alongside Higgins and Joe Burrow, Chase hopes to bring the team’s first Lombardi Trophy back to Cincinnati.
The Bengals don’t play the Buccaneers during the regular season, so we won’t be able to see Evans, Chase, and Higgins on the same field. If that happens, it will be in Super Bowl LX in California.
We can only hope.