Baker Mayfield Builds Up Emeka Egbuka
February 6th, 2026
High praise from his QB.
Neither Baker Mayfield nor Emeka Egbuka had a great second half of the 2025 season.
If the two played after the bye the way they played before the bye, who knows, Joe might be in San Francisco now getting ready for a Bucs-Patriots Super Bowl.
Mayfield very likely was hurt and that’s why he wasn’t his best self, or even his average self. Egbuka, Joe has a strong hunch, got blasted by the dreaded rookie wall.
Still, the two were at the NFL Honors ceremony honoring the best in the NFL. Egbuka was up for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Fetching Colleen Wolfe caught up with Mayfield prior to the ceremony and Mayfield was proud of the rookie receiver from Ohio State.
“For a rookie to step in and be as professional as he is, I mean, I got a first-hand view of how he treats his body, the daily routine, how smart he is,” Mayfield said. “We asked him to do so much this year. [He] played every single receiver position, and as a rookie, to be able to handle that with the mental capacity, it’s a lot. That’s a lot on his shoulders.
“But he handled it really, really well. He’s obviously a stud. So, I mean, that’s my guy.”
When Mayfield and Egbuka were humming, there may not have been a better offense in the NFL. Then Mike Evans got hurt. Then the offensive line began to crumble with injuries. Then Mayfield’s linebacker mentality began to catch up with him.
And before you know it, the Bucs were watching the playoffs just like you and Joe, and the team was hunting for new offensive coaches.
Cross your fingers for 2026 that the injury bug has been exterminated.
Checking in with QB1️⃣ at NFL Honors 🫡
📺: NBC/NFL Network pic.twitter.com/s7SBPRonDH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) February 6, 2026
February 6th, 2026 at 7:48 am
They both will be back.
February 6th, 2026 at 7:51 am
baker STILL needs to work on his ball security…
Baker has led the NFL in fumbles the past 2 years(13/2024, 11/2025)…im well aware he didnt lose 11 fumbles but either way his fumbles were drive killers resulting in negative yards…
he also led the NFL in INTs last year(baker fans will say he was tied with the lead lol)…
maybe baker staying healthy will improve his ball security idk…
but i would like to know, was he “very likely hurt” when he led the league in INTs and Fumbles in 2024?
GO BUCS!!!!
February 6th, 2026 at 7:56 am
hoping Zac’s offense has a minimum of 25 rushes per game…we need to keep baker under 25 passing atts per game…
GO BUCS!!!!
February 6th, 2026 at 8:04 am
Sling it 570 times, that’s gonna happen. Darnold led the league in picks THIS year, and he’s only favored to win the Superbowl. This year Baker went from 16 to 9, so there’s that. (I don’t count the two giveaways from Otton)
February 6th, 2026 at 8:30 am
Bucs need to add another starter EE is the only healthy starter
JMac has not played enough to know whether his neck injury will not be a reoccurring issue
February 6th, 2026 at 8:34 am
Recurring broken neck? Didn’t know that was a thing
February 6th, 2026 at 8:40 am
Amen 🙏 to that
February 6th, 2026 at 8:46 am
LVD on “Wake Up Barstool” this morning. I hate the whole repeating (“two times”) thing… Yeah, Yeah. Good Mornin, Good Mornin.
February 6th, 2026 at 8:48 am
“Weather the storm, man… Weather the storm.” Makes me wanna puke. Not even going to “LoL.” Just talk Fricken NORMAL.
February 6th, 2026 at 8:50 am
Beejee your
Reading comprehension and vocabulary skills are imaginary
February 6th, 2026 at 8:56 am
Good report. Preseason hype rating about a 5.
February 6th, 2026 at 9:06 am
Yeah, running the ball more this year would be stupid. We’ve saw how that worked out this year. And as good as I thought Irving was, he’s just too light in the @ss to be carrying the ball as many times as he was. He’s gonna need help. An emphasis has to be placed on fixing the passing game and throwing the ball more. Irving seemed to have more success on the screens. The running game was pretty bad this year down the stretch, not that the passing game was much better. But you have come from behind wins at the last second with no passing game.
February 6th, 2026 at 9:11 am
“Beejee your
Reading comprehension and vocabulary skills are imaginary”
You spelled LEGENDARY wrong!
February 6th, 2026 at 9:43 am
In order to have a shot at the post season, it seems apparent that the Bucs need to replace their ‘virtual’ backup QB with a real person.