Gerald McCoy Demands Bucs Pay Baker Mayfield
March 28th, 2026
So the Bucs have a two-time Pro Bowl starting quarterback in his prime who hasn’t missed a game in three Tampa Bay seasons.
The same quarterback, Baker Mayfield, also had a rough second half of last season after a stellar start. What was the core reason? Poor health, poor decisions, or an unqualified playcaller?
Regardless, the Bucs have a good starting QB who has shown stretches of greatness.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht has said Mayfield is a keeper, but Mayfield is entering the final year of his contract — 2026 is the last year of his three-year, $100 million deal.
Teams rarely let QBs they want and respect reach the end of their contracts. Those guys get extensions.
Will Mayfield get one soon? Six-time Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy says the Bucs extending Mayfield soon is a no-brainer.
“Pay him. Pay him,” McCoy said of Mayfield on WDAE radio. “Heck yeah. Do y’all see the QB market? Who’s out here? Tell me who’s out here. Tell me who’s coming out in the draft; stop with the ‘maybes.’ I keep telling everybody college football is glorified high school football. That’s what it is. You got a couple of people that make it [in] the league, ‘oh, yeah, that’s great.’ Stop looking at the draft. Look around the landscape of quarterbacking right now. I think any Buccaneers fan should look at the history of our quarterbacks and it should tell you that it’s hard to find a franchise guy. So while we have one, we need to pay him and keep him around as long as we can. People go through ups and downs, but if you don’t have that position, what you got? Pay Baker Mayfield. He’s earned that right.”
Despite Mayfield’s struggles to close last season, the Joe typing here absolutely would say Mayfield is a top-15 quarterback in the NFL. That’s not “great,” but it’s also not something you throw in the trash so you can go fishing for better.
But the idea of making Mayfield earn his next contract through his 2026 performance has merit.
Former NFL agent Joel Corry penned a deep dive on Mayfield’s contract future for CBS.
Corry makes the case that QB salaries likely have dipped temporarily after some big salaries blew up on teams (see Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, etc.) As a starting point for the Mayfield talks, Corry pointed to Daniel Jones of the Colts just signing a two-year, $88 million contract with incentives that could pay him $100 million over two years.
Jones, for those unaware, is coming off an Achilles tear and a history of wildly inconsistent play for the Giants. Jones is not as good as Mayfield.
Big decision ahead for Team Glazer, Licht and Mayfield. The Joe typing here is confident an extension will get done before opening day.
March 28th, 2026 at 5:21 pm
A bird in the hand.
March 28th, 2026 at 5:22 pm
Baker Mayfield had a bad second half of the season
But it wasn’t exactly his fault, the O-Line played poorly
The Wide Receivers couldn’t get speration, couldn’t get open
And Bucky Irving just plain stunk last season
I think it was a combination of things
An inexperienced playcaller, a patched up O-Line
Rushing injured WRs back from injuries
An ineffective run game, playing the wrong RB
Poor defensive play, can’t get off the field
Poor Special Teams play
But we still had a chance to win most games
I predict the Bucs extend him before the opener
4 years $224 Million
March 28th, 2026 at 5:24 pm
But is a bird in the really worth more than two in the bush?
March 28th, 2026 at 5:28 pm
Twice as much!!!👆👆👆👆👆
March 28th, 2026 at 5:42 pm
Put your money into the O-line. Baker could get an extension, but not for more than what he is getting now. He hasn’t proved that he is worth anything more.
March 28th, 2026 at 5:46 pm
you dont have to be a brainiac to see a scenario where the glazers let baker go and roll the dice. you dont get a number one pick by having another .500 season and exiting the playoffs wild card weekend…..
March 28th, 2026 at 5:48 pm
I still say Mike left because of a series of missteps by the Glazers and the front office, to include Jason Licht.
If Baker walks at the end of this season too, we’ll know why.
Pay the man. Now.
March 28th, 2026 at 5:53 pm
Oh, demand.. does that work….
I demand the Bucs FIRE that bum of a Hc and hire a winner!
March 28th, 2026 at 5:57 pm
THIS is where they were with Zyon at the end of ’24. Made sense to pay an ascending player NOW rather then have to pay him half again as much later on. They’re likely afraid of a repeat.
I expect Baker to be a top ten QB next year with intact O-line and a competent OC. Even LAST year he was better than most
March 28th, 2026 at 6:03 pm
I love Baker, but man he was honestly terrible the 2nd hand of last season.
Hopefully, it was bcuz of injuries.
But obviously Evans doesn’t have much confidence in Baker any more. That’s a bad look
March 28th, 2026 at 6:03 pm
*half
March 28th, 2026 at 6:06 pm
Agree with Lakeland. 4 years $224 looks right.
No Brees issues mortgaged to the future.
March 28th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
If im baker I dont sign. I wouldn’t get caught dead in another season under bowles. Hes better off playing it out and then negotiating.
March 28th, 2026 at 6:21 pm
Boomer Sooner..Boomer Sooner…
Mayfield can earn his extension this year
March 28th, 2026 at 6:24 pm
KuKooo KuKooo
March 28th, 2026 at 6:46 pm
It’s easy to want to pay someone when it’s not your money.