The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are working on a contract restructure for star receiver Mike Evans, adding cap space for another potential championship run, sources told ESPN on Monday.
This will be a simple conversion to lower Evans’ team-high $16.637 million cap hit. Tampa needs the help. The latest NFLPA salary cap report lists the Bucs with $270,339 in cap space.
Evans, 28, has three years left on a five-year, $82.5 million extension. He’s due $12.25 million in base salary, which the Bucs can convert to a signing bonus to prorate the money against the cap.
Evans — known as a top-10 receiver in the NFL coming off seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and 61 total touchdowns — has restructured his deal in the past to aid the team’s financial outlook.
Tampa has six veteran players with cap hits of at least $10 million, so the team has options to create additional space for spending. Center Ryan Jensen, cornerback Carlton Davis and defensive end William Gholston are among the team’s 2022 free agents. They could be candidates for a contract extension at some point.