Receiver Mike Evans’ decision to move on from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and hit the free-agent market was a surprise to some. After flirtations with several teams, including the Buffalo Bills, the potential future Hall of Famer settled on the San Francisco 49ers, leading up to a solid debut. But those close to the situation say we ain’t seen nothing yet.

After being selected with the seventh overall pick by the Buccaneers during the 2014 NFL Draft, Evans spent 12 productive seasons with the franchise. During his time in Tampa, the big wideout was a six-time Pro Bowler and twice named as a second-team All-Pro. And along with Tom Brady, he helped lead the Buccaneers to victory in Super Bowl LV.

Even with an injury-plagued 2025 season that limited Evans to just eight games, he finished his Buccaneer career with 866 receptions, 13,052 receiving yards and 108 TDs. The WR is widely considered to be a future Hall of Famer by many.

Hard choices loomed after the season ended, as Evans had a choice: re-sign with Tampa Bay and finish his career with the franchise or move on via free agency. During the Senior Bowl this past January, EssentiallySports was the first to report Evans would move on from the Buccaneers and hit the free-agent market. As I mentioned in the article from January 28th, the Buffalo Bills were the team to keep an eye on.

Buffalo and the Niners were two teams vying for Evans. The Bills seemed to be the perfect fit with strong-armed Josh Allen at quarterback, while Kyle Shanahan made the Niners very attractive. In the end, Buffalo traded for DJ Moore, as many thought Bills general manager Brandon Beane got cold feet on the older Evans.

Enter San Francisco.

The debut for Mike Evans with the 49ers was solid, as he caught six of the seven passes thrown in his direction for 49 yards with one TD during the team’s lopsided 27-7 victory over the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.

Yet those close to the situation tell me it will only get better from here.

During his post-practice press conference on Wednesday, Shanahan noted,

“Mike can do it all. It’s awesome that he’s a great threat outside the numbers. Our guys are just inside the numbers a lot of the time, and Mike’s shown since he’s gotten here that he’s capable of both.”

The reference was Evans moving into the slot after playing most of his career on the outside.

I am told that Evans loves his new home in San Francisco and the coaches love their new weapon at receiver, yet they don’t really know what they have at this point. The coaches are still getting a feel for Evans, who is still getting accustomed to the Niners offense.

The expectations are that Evans will see an increased role starting this week as well as moving forward as both the player and coaches become more accustomed and comfortable with one another.

Where could it end up? Assuming Evans stays healthy, I’m told to look for 75 or more receptions this season, possibly even 80 catches, a number he’s topped only twice in his career.