Pro Bowl receiver was close to joining Denver Broncos rival in free agency

An interview on NFL Network this weekend revealed an intriguing free agency story. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans was talking about his new deal with Tampa Bay and mentioned that before signing his two-year, $41 million extension, he was thinking of possibly testing free agency and eventually signing with either Denver Broncos' AFC West division rival Kansas City Chiefs or a rising team in the Houston Texans. Luckily for the Broncos, he decided to stay in Tampa Bay, the team he has been with for his entire career.

Evans mentions in the interview that he likes Patrick Mahomes' game and that Kansas City was one of his two options if he was going to leave Tampa Bay. Mike has been one of the best wideouts in the decade despite having an irregular quarterback play throughout his career. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and a two-time Second-Team All-Pro and has not had under 1,000 receiving yards so far in his career.

Evans's quarterbacks throughout his career have been the following: Josh Freeman, Mike Glennon, Josh McCown, Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tom Brady, and Baker Mayfield, and despite the irregular play from the first five names, he has been a top-tier receiver every season he has been in the league so far.

The Miami Dolphins acquired star Tyreek Hill in a trade two seasons ago, leaving Kansas City with wide receiver needs. They have drafted and signed multiple guys, but none has been the clear number one. With Evans no longer an option, the Chiefs signed the former first-round pick Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown in free agency. Additionally, they selected speedy Xavier Worthy with their first-round selection in this year's Draft. Worthy broke the 40-yard dash record in the NFL Combine before the Draft.

Despite an irregular wide receiver play following Hill's departure, the Chiefs have won two consecutive Super Bowls, against the Eagles and 49ers respectively. Imagine if the Broncos would have to face not only the Chiefs twice per year, but with Mike Evans as their number one wide receiver.

Luckily, we Broncos fans do not have to worry about a Mahomes-Evans duo since Mike, aka 'Mr. Consistent' Evans signed a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead of potentially signing with the AFC West rivals, the Chiefs.