Giants Rumors: This trade package for Mike Evans could land Daniel Jones a WR1

There could potentially be a No. 1 wide receiver being shopped on the market for the 2023 season and the NY Giants need to have all eyes and ears ready to pounce if needed.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been unable to get a contract extension done with long-time veteran wide receiver Mike Evans, as he’s entering the final year of his deal and was hopeful to work something out. However, both sides are at an impasse. Evans' agent has even set a deadline for Sept. 8 to get a deal done with the Buccaneers.

If the two sides are unable to work on a deal, this is where Joe Schoen needs to make a phone call or two over to Jason Licht, Tampa’s general manager, and see if they are willing to part with Evans. With Tom Brady’s retirement, the Buccaneers have slowly been giving off some of the pieces and players that got them to a Super Bowl three seasons ago. With Evans on the last year of a deal and possibly not having an extension in hand, Evans might be one of the latest to depart from that former championship team.

Could the NY Giants trade with the Bucs for Mike Evans?

With the Giants ready to win now and for the future, Evans could fit into the win-now mode and not cost the Giants their future either. What would be a fair offer to give the Buccaneers for Evans?

The Giants receive: Mike Evans.

The Buccaneers receive: 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick.

Many don’t expect the Buccaneers to be a contender. If anything, the Buccaneers are seen as a team who may be vying for a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and looking for their next future quarterback, so with a player like Evans at the end of his contract with Tampa, it makes Evans an attractive trade piece for a team like the Giants. After all, the Giants just did that with the Arizona Cardinals when they pried away Isaiah Simmons to shore up their defense and pass-rush.

With the trade package offered, Evans just turned 30 years old, so he’s not exactly in the age where a prime receiver gets a top-tier contract or would cost a first or second-round pick. Plus with an expiring contract, teams could risk to gamble and wait if he hits free agency. But if a contending team would want him, the trade compensation from above is what a team may be offering for him.

As far as the financials go, Evans is in the final year of a five-year, $82.5 million deal and one that has a $23.68 million cap hit for the 2023 season. As is, the Giants are looking at around $5.1 million in current cap space - meaning an Evans deal wouldn’t fit under the payroll. So in order to do so, the Giants would have to make a few things happen.

A possible short-term extension would have to happen to free up some cap space and lower the cap hit for Evans in 2023. The Giants have $60 million im cap space currently for the 2024 season, so they could afford an extension for Evans if he requested one. The Giants would also likely need to work on a few other deals and shuffle money around, such as Leonard Williams, Adoree’ Jackson and maybe even Daniel Jones too.

As far as production goes, all Evans has done is produce. In all nine of his professional seasons, he's reached 1,000 yards. His lowest was in 2017 with 1,001. In four of his nine seasons, he’s had double-digit touchdowns. Two of those seasons were with Brady in 2020 and 2021. The final season with Brady in 2022 had Evans with just six, but he still put up 1,124 receiving yards, which shows that even with an aging Brady, Evans still produced.

Now just imagine what Evans can do with Jones in a Brian Daboll offense and with Mike Kafka calling the plays. Imagine what Evans can do when the focus is on trying to contain Darren Waller, or slow down Saquon Barkley, or worrying about Jalin Hyatt burning your corners deep. Imagine being an opposing defensive coordinator trying to game-plan to stop an offense with Waller, Hyatt, Barkley and Evans? That sounds like a nightmare, and that’s the possible impact Evans could have if acquired.

With the Giants considered a contending team and in a possible win-now stage, adding a player the caliber of Evans, who already has a Super Bowl ring to his resume, could only help the Giants fortunes of competing for a championship themselves. This will be something to keep an eye on.

Home/NY Giants Rumors