The San Francisco 49ers shocked a lot of people when they were able to pry Mike Evans away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signed him to a three-year deal. It's not necessarily the deal itself that was shocking, but rather that Evans seemed like a sure thing to be a Bucs lifer, yet he chose to join the Niners in 2026 and beyond.
Now that he's in the Bay area, the 49ers can work on rebuilding their offense for Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy. Evans gives Purdy an electric weapon, and it's a move fans already were quite fond of but analysts liked it as well.
SI's Gilberto Manzano liked the Evans-to-San Francisco move so much that he put it as his No. 1 free-agent signing so far. Manzano put it ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders signing Tyler Linderbaum, the Los Angeles Rams signing Jaylen Watson, the Pittsburgh Steelers signing Jamel Dean, and the Minnesota Vikings signing Kyler Murray:.
"Evans wasn’t exaggerating when he said he’s the final piece the 49ers have needed to win the Super Bowl. The future Hall of Fame wide receiver is that good, and his presence will give coach Kyle Shanahan another element for his extensive playbook that already highlights versatile running back Christian McCaffrey."
49ers already justified after Mike Evans tops free agency rankings
There are plenty of reasons to like the Evans move. For one, he gives Purdy a new weapon to throw to and another player for Shanahan to scheme around. Second, Evans thinks he's the missing piece to the puzzle, and if that's the case, this team is going to be very dangerous in 2026.
To see all of the other key free-agent signings this offseason but have Evans at the top of this particular list says a lot. The Niners needed to add to their offense and did it in a huge way. Evans hopefully stays healthy in 2026 and can indeed be that missing puzzle piece for San Francisco.
If he is, the sky is the limit for next season.