Can Buccaneers survive changing of the guard at WR?

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Can Buccaneers survive changing of the guard at WR? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

This will be the first Tampa Bay Buccaneers offseason that won't have Mike Evans on the active roster after the Pro Bowler swapped Tampa Bay for San Francisco this offseason.

That leaves a big gap both in leadership and on-field production for the Buccaneers' offense, and some aren't sure if the group can cope without Evans.

Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka, along with Jalen McMillan and Tez Johnson, will be tasked with helping push the offense forward without Evans, something they did well last season.

But for CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan, with no Evans full-time, it's a question mark.

“The Buccaneers lost franchise icon Mike Evans in free agency, which means the offense is now set to flow through Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin in 2026,” Sullivan writes. "While both of those receivers are more than capable of headlining a passing attack, the absence of Evans looms large.”

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Can Buccaneers survive no Evans?​

They have the players as a collective, who can.

Losing Evans at times last season was jarring for the offense, as they expected him to be there, so things got shuffled. But now? The franchise and its players know Evans isn't coming to the rescue.

So, a full offseason of work for Egbuka, McMillan, and Johnson to help support Godwin, the Buccaneers should be in a good position to shoulder the loss of Evans.

Granted, there's no replacing a talent like Evans, but the drop-off in production might not be as big as some think in 2026.

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