Wednesday, 4 a.m.
For the rest of the season, at least, Mike Evans is a Buccaneer.
And tha's a good thing.
Oh, I underestand that Evans has had far too dropped passes this season. I understand that he can lost in traffic for too many series in a game. I know his age, and I know his price tag.
Still, it's a good thing that he's still here.
I mean, did you check out some of the trades in Tuesday's draft auction? The 49ers got Chase Young for a third rounder. The Bears got Marquez Sweat for s second-rounder. The Vikings picked up Cam Akers (and a conditional seventh-round pick) for a sixth-rounder.
In other words, rich teams pick-pocketed poor teams on their way to a good season.
Did you want to see Evans go that way? Did you wnat to see the 49ers, or trhe Chiefs, or the Eagles steal him for next-to-nothing?
Look, it's a business. And if someone came waving first-round draft picks around, well, the Bucs should have thought long and hard about that. Sentimentalty or no.
But, as bad as things are going, what good is a second-or third-round pick Logan Hall was a second-round pick.. Booker Reese was a second-ronnd pick. Roberto Aguayo was a seoxnd-round pick.
Would yoiu take any of those guys for a half-season (at lsast) of Evans? Wouldn't you prefer the Bucs hang on, make him a decent offer to keep him?
Hey, there aren't a lot of Bucs on this team that people really, really trust. There is Lovante David. There is Antonio Winfield. There is Jake Camarda. There is Chris Godwin.
And there is Evans, who spits out 1,000-yard seasons like a photo copier.
It's one of my pet peeves when a critic says "Hey, they ought to trat guy" or "Why doesn't the local teams pick up this guy for cheap?"
The thing is, you never want to see your stars go for cheap. You want someone to pay for your memories,. You want a team that admires him as much as you do.
At the trade deadline, that never happens. Teams are trying to find a bargain. And a 30-year-old receiver who’s about to be a free agent isn't likely to qualify unless he's running on fumes.
Look the Bucs haven't let a lot of players go that they really wanted to keep lately. It's hard to blame them for playing wait-and-see with Evans. My hunch is that he'll sign a new deal, and he'll say that he walys wanted to be here, and everyone will grin and pose.
Frankly, I'lm looking forward to that more than a third-round draft pick.