Comparing Baker Mayfield Stats Before And After The Bye
April 14th, 2026
Comparing numbers.
Yes, we know Baker Mayfield was hurt last year and gutted his way through multiple injuries.
He just didn’t look right after the bye. A big tip was he wasn’t running as much. You could tell something was off, but you couldn’t really from his stats.
Former handicapper turned stathead Warren Sharp broke down Mayfield’s numbers on his website Sharp Football Analysis from the first half of the season to the second half. And there doesn’t seem to be anything troubling or sticking out for Joe with his second-half numbers.
Before the Week 9 bye, Mayfield had completed 63.9% of his passes for 7.1 yards per pass attempt with 13 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Over the final nine games, he then completed 62.4% of his passes for 6.5 Y/A with 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
His depth of throw went from 8.6 yards downfield to 7.6 air yards per throw over that span, while his inaccurate throw rate rose 1.8% in those weeks.
The only number that gets Joe’s attention is the picks. Is that because Mike Evans was hurt? Because Chris Godwin was banged up? Emeka Egbuka (likely) hit the dreaded rookie wall?
Whatever the reason, if the Bucs hope to make the playoffs this fall, Mayfield and the offense simply cannot collapse like it did after the bye last season.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:06 am
Baker is a warrior but he is just one of those guys that gets banged up – many QBs missed time last year but Baker did not – hopefully his luck holds out – I am guessing that he will keep fighting until it just gets so bad he has to go on IR
April 14th, 2026 at 7:13 am
I don’t recall seeing Baker ever slide – Brady was slider – Baker just likes to play football and he is an excitable boy – Evans had hamstring issues but he stayed relatively healthy like Brady – Godwin is more like Baker in that he will take the hits – I respect that but it makes for a lot of injuries
April 14th, 2026 at 7:16 am
I remember an interception with 0 on the clock before halftime in the Rams game. On a 65 yard Hail Mary. With a wounded lead shoulder. Same game another pick that Otten bobbled into infamy. I remember seeing Bredeson going down and knowing what that meant. I remember Baker throwing top 10 in the league in yardage. I remember Baker throwing for the 7th most TDs in the league. I remember a running game where we never had a back even approach 100 yards- the entire season. I remember head scratching conservative play calling from a rookie play caller. And I remember the worst red zone defense in the NFL. So way to go Joe. You’ve pinpointed the reason the Bucs failed in 2025. I guess my wife is right. My memory is starting to fade.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:21 am
‘Born Again’ Baker is a Franchise QB. We are Lucky to have him. He is the least of worries on this team. Go Bucs!
April 14th, 2026 at 7:23 am
It would be cool if they would actually admit to the injuries. As far as I can tell, the Bucs and Mayfield have said very little about them. Say what happened and put it to bed.
It was most likely a rib injury. Mayfield missed some open guys noticeably and made up for it, percentage-wise, with the shorter throws.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Give it a few . Any minute the usual Baker haters will chime in.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:38 am
9 picks in the 2nd half of the season is alarming, especially in games that you absolutely need.
Baker is a QB you win with not a QB you win because, of. He needs help to win, in 2025 with the receivers and o line injuries the situation wasn’t good so neither was he for the most part
I like Baker but you can’t pay him like a franchise QB because, then you can’t give him the players he needs to be successful
April 14th, 2026 at 7:42 am
“Any minute the usual Baker haters will chime in.”
Anybody that’s willing to point out when he stinks is a “Baker hater”, sawft
April 14th, 2026 at 7:43 am
The offense certainly looked out of sync the 2nd half of the season and I don’t think you can expect route and pass perfection from a wide receiver and qb when they don’t practice together for weeks (walk-thrus don’t count).
And with all of the gambling on the NFL, I’m a bit befuddled that the NFL doesn’t require (or mandate) accurate injury reports.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:51 am
“I remember a running game where we never had a back even approach 100 yards- the entire season”
Sean Tucker ran for 106 and 2 scores on just 19 carries in Buffalo.
“And I remember the worst red zone defense in the NFL.”
Offensively we finished
-24th in RZ scoring percentage (54%)
-22nd in RZ attempt per game (2.9)
-23rd in RZ scores per game(1.6)
She ain’t lying.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:53 am
The only number that gets Joe’s attention is the picks.
BINGO!!!!!
and the lack of WINS!!!!!
Funny how you left out the fumbles lol…
I REMEMBER, your best ability is your availability!!!! EXCEPT when it comes to baker lol…..his “injuries” are excuses or cop outs….
I REMEMBER, CK94 never getting the “he’s a warrior” excuse every time he’s banged up lol….
I REMEMBER folks saying baker is a leader with moxy and juice, BUT I REMEMBER the bucs had to bring in JPP for his leadership and juice!!!!
if Bucky had 9 fumbles the 2nd half of the season folks wouldnt want him on the roster!!!!….
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 7:54 am
Let’s see how Baker looks when healthy with his full offensive line. My guess?
Fantastic.
April 14th, 2026 at 8:24 am
Baker is, who Baker is. You are not going to change the spots on that leopard. He will sacrifice his body for an extra 6 inches. Some call it moxie, some call it reckless. You better have a good backup and not be afraid to use him. When I think of the collapse of 2025, I focus on defense and special teams. The special teams got better, but you could argue the defense is the same or worse. At least we know we should spend our draft capital.
April 14th, 2026 at 8:32 am
Really? You should focus on the lack of guards too…
April 14th, 2026 at 8:35 am
Any stats available on “time to throw” (before defense already running free on our side across line of scrimmage)?
April 14th, 2026 at 8:39 am
I remember seeing him force it over and over because nobody was getting open, pay that $15 a month to NFL and YOU could see it too. Other teams seemed to know our routes
April 14th, 2026 at 9:03 am
“Any stats available on “time to throw” (before defense already running free on our side across line of scrimmage)?”
Time to throw is skewed by play design, what you’re thinking of is pressure rate relative to throws from the pocket.
The trick with “time to throw” is that a smoke screen to Cade Otton or a quick dumpoff to either RB would make you believe it’s duress, when it’s really play design getting the ball out of Bakers’ hands. 3 OCs later, each and every one has emphasized that coming to this offense.
League average for frequency of pressure per drop back was 21.9%
The most pressured QB in the league last year was Justin Herbert, facing pressure on 29.8% drop backs.
Baker was pressured on 14.8% of his dropbacks, even with backups at G, C, & OT.
Herbert was hurried 55 times compared to Mayfields’ 36.
Herbert was hit 74 times in the pocket compared to Mayfields’ 20 hits.
Herbert was pressured 183 times compared to Mayfields’ 92 times.
Herbert also ran the ball 83(498yds & 2 TDs) times compared to Mayfields’ 55(382 yards & 1 TD) rush attempts
Herbert also threw 2 more INTs than Baker.
Hebert threw 6 INTs in his last 9 games
Baker threw 9 INTs in his last 9 games
Herbert completed 66% of his passes in his last 9 games.
Baker completed 63% of his passes the last 9 games.
Let’s drop that cop out.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:03 am
Tampa2ATL Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 8:35 am
Any stats available on “time to throw”
The average time to throw for an NFL quarterback is typically between 2.7 and 2.9 seconds.
in 2025, baker’s average time to throw was 2.85 seconds…not bad at all despite the injuries…
BUT, due to baker being ONLY 6’0 he has to hold the ball longer because he cant see over our OL…which results in inaccurate throws and batted passes…
with that said, no one is talking about baker sloppy footwork!!!!!!….
Dave fixed that issue in 2023….His sloppy footwork started to rear its head in 2024 under Liam, resulting in him leading the NFL in INTs and Fumbles….things got worse in 2025…and it wasnt ALL injuries….
baker mechanics faded…which effected his production more than the so called injures
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 9:03 am
Joe … ‘He (Baker) just didn’t look right after the bye. A big tip was he wasn’t running as much. You could just tell something was off. But you couldn’t really tell from his stats’.
Excellent article Joe. Go back to BEFORE the BYE though & it becomes obvious (in the stats) that something very significant did change for Baker.
Look at just the first 6 games (and they were against some excellent defenses). Baker ran 5 times against the Falcons, 3 runs against the Texans, 4 runs against the Jets, 2 runs against the Eagles, 5 runs against the Seahawks & 3 runs against the 49ers. That’s 22 runs in the first 6 games, and he took a beating. And significantly, the Bucs only made TWO turnovers in those 6 games, and they BOTH occurred in our only loss, to the Eagles.
In the next 3 games, Baker then ran 0 times against the Lions, 0 runs against the Saints, and 0 runs against the Patriots (1st game AFTER the BYE). He was hurting BIG-TIME; it started BEFORE the BYE, but the BYE week off wasn’t enough to get him healed up. He gutted it out, but we lost 2 of those 3 games, beating the Saints 23-3 primarily because our defense forced 4 takeaways.
Baker started running again after that Patriots game, but he never really looked the same. He’s gutsy as all git-out, but that doesn’t always equate to winning. In those first 6 games, Bucs were 5-1 and made ZERO giveaways in those 5 victories, with 2 giveaways in our only loss there. But in the remaining 11 games, Bucs were 3-8 and made 14 giveaways. Of significance, Bucs only made TWO giveaways total in those 3 wins.
So in our 8 victories last seaosn, the Bucs only made TWO giveaways, and our defense made FIFTEEN takeaways. In our 9 losses, Bucs made FOURTEEN giveaways, and our defense made EIGHT takeaways. Strange as it may sound, those inverted ratios are very reminescent of 2019 when Jameis would complete 1 pass to our receivers, then 1 pass to opponents’ defenders.
Bucs’ offense (and S/Ts) on the season committed 16 turnovers. Bucs’ defense on the season generated 23 takeaways, for a PLUS-7 Turnover Differential. Bucs & the Falcons were the only teams in the NFL to have a positive Turnover Differential but losing records.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:08 am
Warren Brooks Lynch Says: Let’s drop that cop out.
PREACH!!!!!!
and Herbert was missing both Tackles most of the season, just like baker missed the guards!!!!!…and somehow still made the playoffs lol….not to mention Herbert has no running game!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 9:15 am
“Bucs’ offense (and S/Ts) on the season committed 16 turnovers. Bucs’ defense on the season generated 23 takeaways, for a PLUS-7 Turnover Differential. Bucs & the Falcons were the only teams in the NFL to have a positive Turnover Differential but losing records.”
We scored 46 points as team total off these 23 takeaways.
Take our 2 defensive TDs out of the equation.
We scored 32 points, off 21 takeaways offensively. 1.5 points per turnover, meaning not only were we NOT scoring TDs, we were barely turning them into 3 points if not punting the ball back with bupkis to show for it.
As Charles Barkley would say, that’s turrible.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:17 am
Last year it was an ugly product and even at their best serious fans of the game didn’t see anything but a Wild Card round (Division “winner”) exit from this Bucs team.
I think the Joes and many fans are underestimating how much needs to improve to be a dominant, contender level team again. Not a 9-8 NFC South winner, but a real playoff team that is one of the final 4 teams playing.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Good thing Todd had so little to do being HC and DC he could spend time helping out Grizz. Brilliant plan by FO.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:20 am
Bucs’ offense (and S/Ts) on the season committed 16 turnovers. Bucs’ defense on the season generated 23 takeaways, for a PLUS-7 Turnover Differential. Bucs & the Falcons were the only teams in the NFL to have a positive Turnover Differential but losing records.
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so the defense wasnt as bad as folks want to believe and special teams & turnovers are what wrecked the season….not injuries…got it!!!..lol…
is it me, or arent ALL professional football player “suppose” to be tough and “gut it out”….its to be expected….similar to playing hurt….players are expected to play hurt…its a physical game lol….
being hurt and being injured are 2 separate things….baker was HURT not injured…HUGE difference
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 9:28 am
“I think the Joes and many fans are underestimating how much needs to improve to be a dominant, contender level team again.”
I think our biggest hurdle as a team is consistency, in all 3 phases.
I think we have plenty of talent, but what’s been our achilles heel has been finding a way to play well given our circumstances or opponent, and finding ways to sustain that high level of play. Outside of the Seattle game, and maybe that back half of the SF game. We weren’t a team that was consistently putting it together week in and week out. Even then, I think something like 12 of 17 games were ONLY one score games.
Also Joe, you got Suh on Playoff Lenny & Jarvis Landrys’ podcast, might want to check it out
April 14th, 2026 at 9:35 am
Bottom line, the folks that KNOW, Glazers and coaches love BM6 to the point it doesn’t bother them one bit cutting him a large check in order to keep him right here. Lol
April 14th, 2026 at 9:36 am
This fanbase was giving Baker Mayfield too much credit in 2024
The Bucs run game was the reason for their successful offense in 2024
They are trying to blame the failures of this offense in 2025 on many things
They blame injuries, they blame rookies wall, they blame coaching
The one and only reason for our lack of offense, was a lack of a run game
Baker tried to compensate by running the ball himself
That only work for so long, before the pain take effect
Run the ball successfully, and your chances of winning increases
A
April 14th, 2026 at 9:37 am
“Bottom line, the folks that KNOW, Glazers and coaches love BM6 to the point it doesn’t bother them one bit cutting him a large check in order to keep him right here. Lol”
Pipe down zealot
April 14th, 2026 at 9:41 am
Well 813, if Herbert was missing 2 tackles you solved it apparently. I guess that makes everything even. What a mind!!
April 14th, 2026 at 9:44 am
I remember that pick that lost us the falcons game
April 14th, 2026 at 9:49 am
The very lowest point of the season came against the Saints
The Bucs had 1st and goal from the one
The Saints jumped offside, so they moved the chains to the half yard line
The Bucs now have 1st and goal from the half yard line (Inches)
They ran the ball 4 straight times against a tired Saints defense
And the held them to a few measly inches
The Bucs defense won that game 23-3
But it was a reality check of how bad this offense was
April 14th, 2026 at 9:51 am
More Suh & Lenny talking about the 2020 season.
You gotta check this out Joe.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:52 am
WBL … ‘I think we have plenty of talent, but what’s been our achilles heel has been finding a way to play well given our circumstances or opponent, and finding ways to sustain that high level of play.’
Agree totally with what you’re saying about playing with CONSISTENCY, but can’t agree on the ‘have plenty of talent’ part. Bucs have made some huge personnel changes since 2025 ended, and I’m convinced the reason for that is because they realized our talent level was pretty much at a break-even point (good enough to get us to 8-9 or 9-8 records, but not any better than that).
Bucs have had a relatively competitive STARTING ROSTER, but once guys start getting injured, we’ve found out that we have inadequate DEPTH. There were weeks last season when we were hurting so bad as I recall that we couldn’t even run full-scale practices. That’s horrific IMO; an industry with billions of dollars at its’ fingertips, and all they could manage to do was walk-through what they were gonna do in the next Sunday’s game. I’m impressed … unfavorably.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:58 am
Bottom line, the folks that KNOW, know you couldn’t spell “cat” if we gave you the C and the T!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 10:00 am
“Bucs have had a relatively competitive STARTING ROSTER, but once guys start getting injured, we’ve found out that we have inadequate DEPTH”
That’s what some have been complaining about us doing this offseason, going out and getting proven depth is acknowledgment of that need.
Also why I added the “given our circumstances” because even with the injuries from the outset, guys will give one player the credit for those games and not talk about how we started the season with depth on the OL and had some type of replacement player playing in every single game. Seattle included, Nelly in New Orelans, again not every single depth piece is worthless but still.
A high level of play will make you forget depth guys are depth guys
April 14th, 2026 at 10:01 am
**Collective high level of play
April 14th, 2026 at 10:10 am
WBL
i agree regarding the consistency and talent…
i’ll throw in execution too!!!…we dont consistently execute the simple plays…
no way folks can say BUCS dont have enough talent….we beat seattle, san fran, texans and we were missing players in all of those wins…
better execution and a true identity will do wonders for this team
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 10:47 am
So this seems to imply that not much really changed that much statistically with the exception of the increased picks, therefore Baker simply regressed or was simply careless with the ball or just flat out choked. He simply tried to play the way he was playing before but not much was right around him and other teams took advantage. I think a combination of him being significantly impacted health wise off and on, other injuries all around the offense, teams wising up to the grizzard and most importantly, horrible defense and special teams that provided little help. Happy Birthday Baker!
April 14th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Picks happen. Football is weird sometimes.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:09 am
What’s very interesting to me is Joe thinks Baker is a shell of himself if he can’t run. Its almost as if Baker is useless if can use his legs. That shows hes not that good from the pocket…consistently. His mechanics are off which is why you never get consistent good play from him, its always a rollercoaster ride.
The Baker we saw after the bye is the same Baker we’ll see this season because thats who he is. When he starts the season playing the exact same way, what will be the excuses then?
Baker is the most important player on the team because he touches the ball every offensive play. When you look at his decision making and execution in the 4th qtr of games down the stretch and in the playoffs, what makes you think he lead this team to a 🏆?
April 14th, 2026 at 11:10 am
Mayfield is 28-26 as a starter in Tampa, including playoffs.
That is not stellar. He’s basically a Bowles version of a QB.
He’ll get you to the playoffs, about half the time, but doesn’t win many when it counts.
That is not clutch and not worthy of top QB money.
Hard pass.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:20 am
813bucboi Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 9:08 am
Warren Brooks Lynch Says: Let’s drop that cop out.
PREACH!!!!!!
and Herbert was missing both Tackles most of the season, just like baker missed the guards!!!!!…and somehow still made the playoffs lol….not to mention Herbert has no running game!!!
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Herbert and Mayfield had virtually identical stats in 2025 except Herbert had MORE INT’s than Baker 13 vs 11. Not sure what is your point?
April 14th, 2026 at 11:20 am
Bee Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 11:09 am
What’s very interesting to me is Joe thinks Baker is a shell of himself if he can’t run. Its almost as if Baker is useless if can use his legs. That shows hes not that good from the pocket…consistently. His mechanics are off which is why you never get consistent good play from him, its always a rollercoaster ride.
The Baker we saw after the bye is the same Baker we’ll see this season because thats who he is. When he starts the season playing the exact same way, what will be the excuses then?
Baker is the most important player on the team because he touches the ball every offensive play. When you look at his decision making and execution in the 4th qtr of games down the stretch and in the playoffs, what makes you think he lead this team to a 🏆?
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PREACH!!!!!!!
when was baker ever a lamar jackson type QB lol…baker is a 4.8 QB lol…
GREAT POST!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 11:22 am
“I think a combination of him being significantly impacted health wise off and on, other injuries all around the offense, teams wising up to the grizzard and most importantly, horrible defense and special teams that provided little help”
“So in our 8 victories last seaosn, the Bucs only made TWO giveaways, and our defense made FIFTEEN takeaways. In our 9 losses, Bucs made FOURTEEN giveaways, and our defense made EIGHT takeaways. Strange as it may sound, those inverted ratios are very reminescent of 2019 when Jameis would complete 1 pass to our receivers, then 1 pass to opponents’ defenders.
Bucs’ offense (and S/Ts) on the season committed 16 turnovers. Bucs’ defense on the season generated 23 takeaways, for a PLUS-7 Turnover Differential. Bucs & the Falcons were the only teams in the NFL to have a positive Turnover Differential but losing records.”
+7 Turnover differential is plenty of help, fact is the offense couldn’t help itself if we like honesty over spinning not so tall, tall tales.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:29 am
Coaching. Matters. Mayfield knows he’s got to win games by himself and puts too much mental pressure on himself. As long as he or anyone plays for Him, he’s gonna suck.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:32 am
Herbert and Mayfield had virtually identical stats in 2025 except Herbert had MORE INT’s than Baker 13 vs 11. Not sure what is your point?
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YOU JUST PROVED MY POINT!!!!…
its all about WINS!!!!!!..stats are for loser!!!…
Justin dealt win injuries and as you pointed out INTs(whos he throwing to?) and still made the PLAYOFFS…
when the chargers needed Justin the most for their playoff push Justin DELIVERED & guided them to a 3-1 record in DEC…..
baker went 0-4 in the month of DEC…he choked!!!
again cherry pick stats all you want but the only stat that matters is WINS!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 11:32 am
So Bee, we saw the mvp candidate version of Baker in the first half, and then we saw a less than stellar version of Baker after the bye, therefore the Baker we will see in 2026 is the post bye version, because that’s who he is. Really sound logic Bee! Keep preaching to the bucboi, he appreciates that kind of logic.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:34 am
Bee Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 11:09 am
Baker is the most important player on the team because he touches the ball every offensive play.
±+++++++++++
So does the center. So by this logic, we need to replace our center!
April 14th, 2026 at 11:35 am
For me it’s all about consistency. Baker cant have lapses where you misses a bunch of easy throws or gets happy feet in the pocket after 1 sack. He cant get overhyped before primetime games and come out firing the ball high.
Big year for Baker. I hope he bakes..but still skeptical that he can be consistent enough.
Does that make me a “Baker hater” or just a realist?
April 14th, 2026 at 11:36 am
LynchMob50 Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 11:10 am
Mayfield is 28-26 as a starter in Tampa, including playoffs.
That is not stellar. He’s basically a Bowles version of a QB. That is not clutch and not worthy of top QB money.
Hard pass.
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PREACH!!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 11:50 am
If it’s a matter of CONSISTENCY, how do you know what version of Baker we’ll get to start the new season Bee? Your explanation for his poor second half is simply that’s who he is and you’re sure that’s who he’ll be this year coming out of the gate. What’s your bs explanation for how he managed to play the way he did in the first half of 2025 and in 2023 and 2024 for that matter.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:50 am
Oscar Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 11:32 am
So Bee, we saw the mvp candidate version of Baker in the first half
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let me PREACH to you lol
MVP voting occurs immediately AFTER the regular season ends and BEFORE the playoffs begin, though results are revealed just before the Super Bowl.
Baker was out of the “MVP” race by MID NOV lol….season doesnt end until JAN lol…you have to be playing your best ball in the months of NOV & DEC to be a serious candidate…baker was 1-7 during that stretch….yeah, real MVP candidate lol
funny how you clowns say Baker was MVP mid season but never mention todd being Coach of the Year mid season….straight from the horses mouth: Bruce
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 11:58 am
“Does that make me a “Baker hater” or just a realist?”
Makes you a concerned Bucs fan that doesn’t bury his head in the sand.
Don’t let the male cheerleaders get to you.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:04 pm
Baker was not Mahomes or Allen level in 2023 or 2024 or the first half of 2025, but he was pretty damn good. So how can anyone say with so much certainty that the Baker we saw after the bye in 2025 is the real Baker. A 2 and 1/2 year sample size vs a 1/2 year sample size and you point to the latter to define who Baker is as a quarterback. That logic exposes the fact that you are just plainly biased Bee.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:30 pm
I can’t believe Joe hasn’t done an article on the Baker segment yesterday on Colin Cowturd (thanks Phyllis lol)/The Herd, and shared the video. They said the EXACT same thing I’ve been saying, when it comes to Baker’s extension (and $50-MIL+ QB’s just in general). They said they both like Baker. BUT, they don’t like a $45-$55MIL per year Baker. And, like I’ve been saying… A BAD/middling team is NOT getting better by paying TOP of the market $$$$ for a QB. Especially, for a middle of the road, aging, beat up and banged up, inconsistent QB. You’re just NOT. Like they said, it DEEPLY limits what you could do. It would be an absolute catastrophic mistake for the Bucs to extend HIM early! There is absolutely NO REASON to do so. It would be ANOTHER unforced error. 💯 – they had him around that Top-15 range. You just canNOT do that. Especially, on a BAD to ‘middling’ team with an uncertain future. You Just CAN’T. It’d be STUPID. You gain absolutely NOTHING by doing so. Just because other (BAD) teams (&/or) BAD FO’s (like the Irsay gals) handed Tua and Jones $50-MIL, doesn’t mean that the BUCS have to. I hope everything falls apart and gets REAL UGLY in Indy, so that Steichen can be at the top of our list next offseason. He’s a REAL GOOD HC stuck in a bad spot that appears to be worsening.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
“A 2 and 1/2 year sample size vs a 1/2 year sample size and you point to the latter to define who Baker is as a quarterback. That logic exposes the fact that you are just plainly biased Bee.”
You’re biased as well Oscar, the fact your judging a QB based off a 2.5 year span who’s been in the league since 2018 and has started 120 games, just question what the “real” Baker Mayfield looks like when there’s MORE than enough data out there. That’s how Bee knows.
Baker owes this team more than this team owes Baker. Clear as day, when Bowles & Licht went after him in ’23 they pulled his career out of the reclamation bin, because the only noteworthy QB he’s performed better than form his draft class is Josh Rosen. Outside of that Jackson, Allen, and now Darnold have accomplished more and performed at a higher level on bigger stages than the former 1st overall pick.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:40 pm
simple size is greater than 2 1/2 years lol…
bakers been in the league 8years with ONLY 2 season with 10+ wins….that aint elite at all!!!!…thats not even “pretty darn good” lol…
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
MelvinJunior Says: A BAD/middling team is NOT getting better by paying TOP of the market $$$$ for a QB. Especially, for a middle of the road, aging, beat up and banged up, inconsistent QB. You’re just NOT. Like they said, it DEEPLY limits what you could do. It would be an absolute catastrophic mistake for the Bucs to extend HIM early! There is absolutely NO REASON to do so. It would be ANOTHER unforced error. 💯 – they had him around that Top-15 range.
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PREACH!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
@ Oscar – it is NOT a 2.5 years sample-size. It is more like an 8-YEAR sample-size, now!!!! And, if you are begging for the BUCS to shell-out and commit over $200-MILLION+ ($50+MIL per season) LONGTERM to BAKER, mostly all guaranteed… Then, YOU are not a “Bucs-Fan.” Period. YOU are a “Baker-Fan.” If we do hand Baker that kind of money, then you better HOPE to God that JL morphs into some kind of Draft Guru overnight! Cause, that’ll be the ONLY way that we’ll be able to improve this WEAK ass Roster. And, you do know that he hasn’t drafted a Pro-Bowler in at least 5-6 YEARS, right!? So, let’s just remain calm and allow Good Ole Bakey-Bake to play-out THIS season FIRST, before goin’ all cray-cray crazy-cray LoL.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:52 pm
The pictures of Sydney Sweeney to the right are very distracting. But in a good way LOL. God blessed her with a unique set of qualities. It’s not about her face.
April 14th, 2026 at 12:57 pm
813bucboi … ‘no way folks can say BUCS dont have enough talent….we beat seattle, san fran, texans and we were missing players in all of those wins’.
Beating the Super Bowl champs during the season doesn’t make us the Super Bowl champs. And beating the 12-5 Texans & the 12-5 San Fran 49ers doesn’t make us a 12-5 or better team. It simply means that on THOSE DAYS we came out ahead on the scoreboard & won those games.
o Beat Texans 20-19: We dominated them in TOP (37 to 23 minutes) & held them to 46 plays total. We also held them to 2-for-10 in 3rd & 4th down conversions, as well as sacked them 3 times. Offensively our running game was on fire (30 rushes for 169 yards) & we had zero turnovers. And BTW, on defense Bucs had 11 starters who played more than 60% def snaps (highest number doing so on the year it looks like).
o Beat Seahawks 38-35: We also won the TOP in that one (33 to 27 minutes) but that one was an offensive battle. Our running game wasn’t nearly as good as Seattle’s, but thankfully Baker was on fire (29-of-33 for 379 yds & 2 TDs). Our defense however forced 2 turnovers, and those both turned out to critical to the final score.
o Beat 49ers 30-19: We lost the TOP in that one (32:35 to 27:25) and San Fran had a lot more plays (67 to 50). BUT … defensively we sacked them 6 times & forced 2 turnovers (our offense scored a TD & a FG off those 2). Wasn’t our finest game offensively or defensively, but we held them to only 19 pts. San Fran moved the ball well, but our defense did a very good job when it really counted (held 49ers to 7-of-18 on 3rd/4th down conversions).
Again though, beating quality teams like that is probably easier early in the season while they’re still trying to get their act together (Texans lost their first 3 games, Seattle was 3-1 when they played us, and San Fran was 4-2 when they played us but had a lot of injuries).
April 14th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
“Offensively our running game was on fire (30 rushes for 169 yards) & we had zero turnovers. And BTW, on defense Bucs had 11 starters who played more than 60% def snaps (highest number doing so on the year it looks like).”
I’d chill out on saying anything on offense was on fire in this particular game DR, we scored on our first 2 possessions, went scoreless on 7 possessions that spanned 3 quarters and didn’t put the game away until our 10th and final possession.
We allowed 19 points, gotta give the defense their due. That same pattern of behavior played out in almost all of our close games.
April 14th, 2026 at 1:13 pm
@ WBL Says: “League average for frequency of pressure per drop back was 21.9%
The most pressured QB in the league last year was Justin Herbert, facing pressure on 29.8% drop backs.
Baker was pressured on 14.8% of his dropbacks, even with backups at G, C, & OT.
Herbert was hurried 55 times compared to Mayfields’ 36.
Herbert was hit 74 times in the pocket compared to Mayfields’ 20 hits.
Herbert was pressured 183 times compared to Mayfields’ 92 times.
Herbert also ran the ball 83(498yds & 2 TDs) times compared to Mayfields’ 55(382 yards & 1 TD) rush attempts
Herbert also threw 2 more INTs than Baker.
Hebert threw 6 INTs in his last 9 games
Baker threw 9 INTs in his last 9 games
Herbert completed 66% of his passes in his last 9 games.
Baker completed 63% of his passes the last 9 games.
Let’s drop that cop out.”
Yep 💯. Tried telling these clowns this ‘over and over’ all during the last 5-6+ games left in the season, but it’s just exactly like these “reporters” on Iran. You tell them over and over, and again and again. But, they just stare at you while it literally goes in one ear and then out the other… Or, it’s that same blank stare as it bounces right off of them. It’s unbelievable. It’s like you are talking to a fricking WALL. They just completely ignore the FACTS and what you are telling them. And, then they are just going to believe whatever it is that THEY WANT TO. It’s just soooo absurd. He had every single bit as much “time” (and with a clean pocket) as did most everyone else, AND also took fewer sacks. But, here’s the thing… They ALL already know this, BUT they continue on with spewing THEIR OWN made up narratives. It’s exactly like Iran, with the same reporters asking the SAME questions over and over again, EVERYDAY, while sitting in the WH Briefing Room or Oval Office. It’s RIDICULOUS. It’s like they are completely empty and are robots that literally dismissed EVERYTHING they were just TOLD. They just refuse to accept it. It’s laughable. And, corrupt. They continue playing stupid. It’s all a false narrative.
April 14th, 2026 at 1:19 pm
DR:Beating the Super Bowl champs during the season doesn’t make us the Super Bowl champs. And beating the 12-5 Texans & the 12-5 San Fran 49ers doesn’t make us a 12-5 or better team. It simply means that on THOSE DAYS we came out ahead on the scoreboard & won those games.
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what point are you trying to make?….are you discrediting our early season win vs quality teams?…are you saying a more accurate read on out team comes from weeks 7 and later?
Boy, very surprised at you @DR LOL…you werent singing that tune earlier in the season after the seahawk win:
Defense Rules Says:
October 5th, 2025 at 9:04 pm
Baker was incredible … again. That’s now FOUR 4th qtr comebacks this season, and he’s THE reason our Bucs are 4-1.
I’m flabbergasted by what I saw from our defense today. For the first 28 minutes of the game, they were world-beaters. Shut out the Seahawks no problem.
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Well @DR, it baker is the reason for our early season Wins, he’s certainly the reason for NO WINS in DEC….
any who i thought football was a “TEAM” game….even you’ve said that many times…
the year we won the SB we lost to KC during the regular season and got sweep by the saints…
so again, whats your point?…..Wins vs quality team in SEPT & OCT dont matter, or does the true identity of your team happen in NOV & DEC…
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 1:28 pm
It seriously, makes me wonder if these people actually WATCH any of the other games at all, or any of the other team’s QB’s!? I mean, almost every game I watch, QB’s are under constant pressure, & etc. When you hold onto the ball FOREVER, things will eventually breakdown, and they’re gonna GETCHA!!!! Ya gotta get rid of the ball. Ya gotta be able to move around and manipulate the pocket. Ya gotta look off defenders. Ya gotta be able to read the defense PRE-SNAP and know where you’re goin. THOSE are the QB’s who create their own time. It’s an extra split second is all it takes. Any advantage you can make or find. THAT is what separates THE BEST from the rest.
April 14th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
It’s all the same old worn-out story with Baker. Same excuses. Everything always has to be just absolutely perfect for when it comes to HIM. It’s been 8-YEARS NOW, folks! I mean, come on. Geez. I have NEVER before… Not for ANY Quarterback. I just don’t get the undying LOVE. From “ADULTS.” It’s Unbelievable. Has to be his ‘family’ on here. HAS TO BE.
April 14th, 2026 at 1:38 pm
Boy, very surprised at you @DR LOL…you werent singing that tune earlier in the season after the seahawk win:
Defense Rules Says:
October 5th, 2025 at 9:04 pm
Baker was incredible … again. That’s now FOUR 4th qtr comebacks this season, and he’s THE reason our Bucs are 4-1.
I’m flabbergasted by what I saw from our defense today. For the first 28 minutes of the game, they were world-beaters. Shut out the Seahawks no problem.
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Well @DR, if baker is the reason for our early season Wins, he’s certainly the reason for NO WINS in DEC…i thought football was a “TEAM” game….even you’ve said that many times…
any who, the year we won the SB we lost to KC during the regular season and got sweep by the saints…
so again, whats your point?…..
-Are you discrediting our early season win vs quality teams?…
-Are you saying a more accurate read on our team comes from weeks 7?
-Wins vs quality team in SEPT & OCT dont matter because its “early” or does the true identity of your team show up in NOV & DEC…
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 1:38 pm
WBL … I didn’t say that the offense was on fire. I said that the Bucs’ RUNNING GAME was on fire. Check the stats.
April 14th, 2026 at 1:39 pm
Well @DR, if baker is the reason for our early season Wins, he’s certainly the reason for NO WINS in DEC…i thought football was a “TEAM” game….even you’ve said that many times…
any who, the year we won the SB we lost to KC during the regular season and got sweep by the saints…
so again, whats your point?…..
-Are you discrediting our early season win vs quality teams?…
-Are you saying a more accurate read on our team comes from weeks 7?
-Wins vs quality team in SEPT & OCT dont matter because its “early” or does the true identity of your team show up in NOV & DEC…
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 1:43 pm
“WBL … I didn’t say that the offense was on fire. I said that the Bucs’ RUNNING GAME was on fire. Check the stats.”
I have DR, and that’s the famous game White rushed for about 45 yards on 4 consecutive runs, got us into the redzone, and Grizz pulled all of our RBs off the field to go empty set about 17 yards off the goal line. Just to kick an FG 4 plays later.
We were 22 yards shy from rushing for as many yards as we passed.
April 14th, 2026 at 2:08 pm
Thank you 813 and WBL for providing factual and logical statements.
I’m looking at this objectively. Baker couldn’t make a deep playoff run with a healthy OL, HoFer Evans and Coen as OC verses a rookie. He definitely won’t do it now. The biggest knock against Baker isn’t health or height, its GOOD consistent play. Brady, Burrow, Jackson, all pretty much consistent so you know what you’re going to get more or less…usually great QB play.
Thats why Baker is on his last year right now. The owners love Baker so much they paid Cade Otton. He’s a 10 yr veteran QB on a prove it deal after missing the playoffs. Thats not elite.
April 14th, 2026 at 2:17 pm
The three games directly after the bye were against pretty good teams, two on the road. Somewhat excusable. Then we turned it around and beat the Cardinals. What really hurts was the losses after that. We win the games we’re supposed to (hello, Saints, Dolphins and Panthers) after the Cardinals game and we’re 11-6 or even 12-5. That Patriots game was close right after the bye. The Rams game, West Coast game where the Bucs kind of suck, was embarrassing. And just as far away before the bye week, we defeat the Seahawks in Seattle, the seasons eventual super bowl champs. Offense was Jekyll and Hyde… defense was just bad.
Very confusing ?????
April 14th, 2026 at 2:25 pm
I see a few people are Baker Mayfield haters. Specifically 813bucboi.
He will throw BM6 under the bus, but praise Todd Bowles. I wonder why that is? hmm….
3rd and 28. Couldn’t stop the offense. 4th and 14, still couldn’t stop the offense.
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 27 points to the Jets. THE JETS. Just letting Tyrod Taylor throw for almost 200 and run for almost 50. Like come on.
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 31 to the eagles that did not really ever find an identity all season long.
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 35 to the Seahawks and letting Sam Darnold, of all QBs, Sam Darnold get over 300 yards passing.
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 28 to the Patriots giving up over 100 yards receiving to… Mack…Hollins??? REALLY???
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 29 to the Falcons with Kirk Cousins….AGAIN
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 34 to the Rams with no running game.
A Todd Bowles defense that gave up 44 to the Bills with no real offense.
Sure Baker lost us games. He also won us games. But the consistent problem has been the Head Coach. His Defense has been awful post Superbowl win.
Some people are not cut out to be the THE GUY. This man is NOT cut out for the job as HC. It is too much for him obviously. We got to see it for years in New York. We are seeing it again in Tampa Bay.
But hey. I would like a reply 813bucboi. Why do you defend Todd Bowles so much? HMM??? I. Wonder. Why.
April 14th, 2026 at 2:28 pm
813bucboi Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 11:32 am
Herbert and Mayfield had virtually identical stats in 2025 except Herbert had MORE INT’s than Baker 13 vs 11. Not sure what is your point?
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YOU JUST PROVED MY POINT!!!!…
its all about WINS!!!!!!..stats are for loser!!!…
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The greatest baseball hitter of the modern era was Ted Williams. How many World Series did Williams play in? Baseball like football has a lot of component pieces like defense, pitching, relief pitching etc. Only idiots rank QB’s by win loss. Matthew Stafford career W-L is 120-118. By your standards he is a loser or mediocre at best. Ted Williams remains the greatest hitter of the modern era although Yogi Berra played an won many more World Series. Statistics are a measure of individual achievement. Baker’s are good enough to rate $50Mill/ year. When he gets that very soon, take your ball and go away with Munch and Co.
April 14th, 2026 at 2:52 pm
sorry for the multiple post lol…joe made me sit lol
GO BUCS!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 2:55 pm
DR Says: “they realized our talent level was pretty much at a break-even point (good enough to get us to 8-9 or 9-8 records, but not any better than that).”
That is “good enough” to get us to 8-9 or 9-8, in the NFC SOUTH.
April 14th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
Anybody not in a come would take the 6-5/6-6 herbert at 28 over 6 foot, 31 year old 4 team baker in a micro -second. Plot twist, put herbert on this EXACT team and put baker on the Chargers. We would be a SERIOUS problem in the NFC and the Chargers would be in contention for the #1 pick and a virtual lock for a top 5 pick. And you guys really dont want to get into the degree of difficulty of the AFC West vs the nfc South.
herbert and the chargers offense was ranked 12th, our offense was ranked 21st. before you blame the oc and injuries, remeber in 2023 our offense was ranked 23rd with a healthy oline and every skill player starting all 17 games. canales was the OC too.
Seattle from 2022-2024 had geno who (on paper) was a top 6-8 qb and his 3 years in Seattle, he had a better winning % then “born again baker” has in tampa. Anyway, they essentially kept the same team, made no major additions just Swapped Darnold for Geno and look, year 1 went from a 9-10 win team to a 14 game winner and SB title team.
The Chargers and Seahawks had a considerably worse Ol then tampa in 2024 according to any site you look at-but i guess we should take the analysis of baker cult memebers over Pff and others.
baker sucks and he has a foot and a hafl out the door. Its no need fpor all this hand ringing, they could have just signed him if thety wanted too.
You cant win with Baker, you havent and nobody else has. its no coincidence he has 3 winning seasons in 8 years. the 3 times he made the playoffs it all came down to the very last game of the season and twice it came down to the last quarter of the season.
April 14th, 2026 at 3:10 pm
Gipper Says: Only idiots rank QB’s by win loss…
man, what are you talking about lol…
HELLO!!!!!!…YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!!!!
its no way around it!!!!!…ITS ALL ABOUT WINS!!!…
Matthew Stafford has WON a SB….THAT single WIN makes his career!!!
Dilfer was a career loser…..but 1 WIN changed all that….he’s an SB champ…
Randy Johnson isnt one of the greatest pitchers of all time solely because he could throw 100+ fast ball……HE WON with it!!!!!
only way baker makes that kind of money is if the bucs WIN 11games and 2 playoff games….no NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME no Payday for baker….
he’ll be holding a clip board as backup…again lol
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 3:15 pm
Bye Baker Bye Bowles Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 3:05 pm
Anybody not in a come would take the 6-5/6-6 herbert at 28 over 6 foot, 31 year old 4 team baker in a micro -second. Plot twist, put herbert on this EXACT team and put baker on the Chargers. We would be a SERIOUS problem in the NFC and the Chargers would be in contention for the #1 pick and a virtual lock for a top 5 pick. And you guys really dont want to get into the degree of difficulty of the AFC West vs the nfc South.
PREACH!!!!!!!
and mike wouldve never left lol….
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
The Seahawks were without 4 of their TOP DB’s when we played them. San Fran had to fly cross country with a BACKUP Quarterback, and they were absolutely COOKED the very second when Fred Warner was lost. You could literally see-it in their faces while standing on their sideline. From the Coaches to the Players. They were DONE. And, it happens on a weekly basis in the NFL. A good team is going to LOSE to a bad team. You can write it down. NOBODY thought Carolina was beating The RAMS (that was when they were rollin’ too). Except for ME hahah. Yeah, I did call that one (right on here, too)… And, that’s why I picked that one to bring up LoL. I just had a feelin. I thought the Panthers were in a good spot to maybe catch ‘em a little off guard there, and they did.
April 14th, 2026 at 3:27 pm
And please tell me that you could see baker transforming the trajectory of 2 teams in historically divisons back to back years, winning 14 regular seasn games and 4000 yards passing..
.Yeah f’n right. baker be smack dab in the middle of the nfc south crap show with desmond ridder, bryce young, washed cousins and carr, andy dalton, penix, tyler schough and spencer rattier. he has to get on a win streak to win the historically garbage divison in week 18 lol.
Minnesota won 6 games the year before darnold got there. They won 14 year 1 in the nfc north in 2024. Nobody, as in not one person was talking about seattle this time last year. They went from a borderline playoff team to a SB champ with trading Darnold for geno as the only major move.
Then lets look at darnold playoff run, he threw for 350 and 3 tds in the nfc title game and outdueled Stafford. That vaunted defense gave up 500 yards (479 before someone comes on here and calls me a liar). The rbs combined for 66 yards, they ran for 75 yards as a team-darnold had 9 of those yards.
darnold went the ENTIRE playoffs without a turnover. Now say with a straight face that baker could do that in 3 post season, regular season, hell PRESEASON games.
Hes not a winner nor will he never be. i dont want to hear about Stafford recrd being around .500. he is a completely different caliber qb. Not to mention he spent 12/17 years in Detroit. Look at it this way, at 33 Stafford netted 2 #1 picks and a 26 year old Jared Goff. Baker could not net a late 1st round pick as he turned 31 today.
baker could not net a move up from #15 into the top 5 of this years weak draft. He is who he is. 2026 will be a exit year.Even tua is 44-32 in Miami
April 14th, 2026 at 3:38 pm
813bucboi … ‘so again, whats your point?’
Our record during our last Super Bowl year makes the point bucboi: every game ends up standing on its’ own merits (or de-merits, whatever). There are unique situations that develop in every game (like Fred Warner getting hurt when we played the 49ers last year). Sometimes a team can overcome those situations, sometimes they can’t.
April 14th, 2026 at 3:48 pm
Realist
813bucboi Says:
November 24th, 2025 at 8:04 am
horrible display of a football team!!!
todd has to hold himself accountable…he’s failing
GO BUCS!!!!
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813bucboi Says:
April 13th, 2026 at 9:44 am
LOVE THIS KID!!!!!!…his motor is unbelievable and he has skills!!!!
bowles will have him dropping into coverage far too often because TODD wants to produce sacks, not his players
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Ive voiced my displeasure regarding todd loud and clear…plenty of times…heck, i wanted klint kubiac…
my displeasure is equally the same regarding baker…Baker isnt cut out to be THAT guy no more than todd is lol…and we saw what baker did in CLE…and LAR…and CAR lol…
baker is average…todd is average…happy?
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 3:58 pm
Defense Rules Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 3:38 pm
813bucboi … ‘so again, whats your point?’
Our record during our last Super Bowl year makes the point bucboi
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no it doesnt…after 8 games in 2020 we were 6-2…same as this year
we had injuries to our DLine in 2020(Vita)…same this year(Kancey)
we had injures to out OL..stinnie was a starter…this year MJ was a starter…
you got caught trying to move the goal post lol…its ok lol…
but since you made this statement: DR SAYS: Again though, beating quality teams like that is probably easier early in the season while they’re still trying to get their act together
I ASK YOU AGAIN:
-Are you discrediting our early season win vs quality teams?…
-Are you saying a more accurate read on our team comes from weeks 7?
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 14th, 2026 at 3:59 pm
Baker is the reason/biggest reason Mike left. Purdy is a huge upgrade. before you say Purdy is just has the benefit of the Kyle S system/ under Purdy the offense has produced at a different level then it did under Garapolo.
And Garapolo was a winner in his own right but under Purdy the offense has been far more productive. And if “any” Qb could have done the same why didnt trey Lance?
Purdy is already much better and 5 years younger meaning he could still be ascending. Mike heaped praised on him, hosted Bakers biggest national critic (Shady Mccoy) OVER.HIS.HOUSE. before free agency and praised the WR room before free agency.
A month later he has not publicly said ANYTHING about baker. read between the lines. The organization can say ANYTHING about baker and heap praise on him but they havent done squat.
Extending a guy thats enteing year 4 on your program is not complicated at all. You actually think they could not have given baker a 3 year/165m extension if they wanted to? Why wouldnt they have lowered his cap # BEFORE free agency?
Tua and murray had bad deals. the teams overpaid based on potential s those guys were on expiring rookie deals. Tua’s 4th year he led the leauge with 4600 yards, directed the leauges #1 offense and was a playoff Qb at 25. His first 4 years he had a winning record. As a top 5 pick on his rookie deal he wa sgoing to get paid.
Watson was 26 year old and a bonafied star Qb when Cleveland signed him to that deal. The Cousins deal was puzzling as he was 36 coming off a achilles injury to a new team.
But even when teams make bad deals they just dont stay there, they move off them. if you can help it, you dont want to make that mistake on a older, more bounced around premium bridge/backup.
I do think he is a high tier backup/fringe starter who starts 17x a year. I think Wentz, Winston, Brissett, flacco and Cousins could and would get over 4000 yards if they started all 17 games. thats only 235 yards per game. Any experienced veteran could get that except Minshew and garapolo.
funny thing is, garapolo would probably have the best w-l record in that group for 2026 because he is a winner. Explain paying Baker 55,50, 45 or even 40 M when we got all these guys on rookie deals winning playoff games.
You draft a rookie (not this year) and hedge your bet with a good, experienced backup like Brisett and then a nother guy like Minshew. You will similar (or better) production for a fraction of the price.
While that may or may not lead to a SB or contention we know for a fact this route will not lead to contention. Alex Smith was 32 when KC when traedd up for mahomes. Smith was a fine qb and had 5 straight winning season and made the playoffs 4/5 years in a darn tough AFc West.
Mahomes is a extreme example but facco was 33 when baltimore traded up for Lamar. Roders was 36 but still darn elite when Green Bay traded up for Love. The 2 most sucessful franchises of the past decade in the NFC (philly and SF) have had a revolving door at qb until they found “their guy” who matched their blueprint and philosiphy.
Those 2 teams have ruthlessly moved on from Qbs. Philly went from Foles to Bradford to Wentz to Hurts in a 5 year span. every Qb was 27-28 when they were discarded.And here we are going on half a decade with retread baker and yall want 2-3 more years of this dude
April 14th, 2026 at 4:09 pm
defense rules… did the 49ers make excuses? 12-5 in the nfc west with Purdy misisng half the year. We got stomped by Detroit and was getting embarassed by Philly at home, 24-6 at halftime. Baker snd the team wa healhy. We started 3-0 in ugly comeback wins vs teams that started 1-8.
We were 5-2 with a NEGATIVE point differential on the year lol. Then we beat Rattier and the Saints 20-3 lol. Was Baker “hurt” in the first half vs Philly when were down 24-6 and he was 12/21 for 65 yards, 0td and a pick?
He’s been here 3 years. We are 28-26 with him. 11-7 in the nfc south, 17-19 outside the division. Below.500 outside your divison is garbage. Not below.500 vs winning teams, just outside your division period. Red flag, over a 3 year sample size?
April 14th, 2026 at 4:21 pm
baker cult members says; lamar, Allen and Burrow not better then baker, they the same because they have the same number of rings (idiotic logic but follow me) but will (equally idiotically) rank Baker on par with or ahead(?!?!?!?!) of herbert because herbert has 0 playoff wins compared to baker 2 wild card wins in a 2 year longer career.
They will praise baker 2 wildcard wins in 8 years whil discrediting SUPERBOWLS from Hurts and darnold because they were on alledged “Super teams”. You know Hurts team was 4-12 his rookie year then 9-8 his second year.
so is it a team sport or NOT? You all say baker LED cleveland to ONE winning season in 4 years and one wildcard win in 4 years (lol) and he wasnt the even the best skill player on that offense. nick Chubb was and it wasnt close. As a offensive skill player in 2020 Nick chubbwas on a seperate tier then baker who gets credit for “leading them”..baker. Nick Chubb split a ton of carries with kareem Hunt (imagine kareem Hunt being your #2 back in 2020-what aluxury) played 12 games and ran for almost 1100 yards and nearly 6 yards per carry.
you cant have it both ways guys… Its a reason the Qb gets paid the most. it just not another position on the team.
April 14th, 2026 at 5:30 pm
Baker sucked before the bye.
From week 7 on he was trash.
April 14th, 2026 at 5:49 pm
Well we learned one thing from the Munch losers today and here it is. Ted Williams the greatest hitter of the modern era was a loser because he never won a World Series. Conversely, Yogi Berra and Booby Richardson were the greatest catcher and second baseman in the history of baseball because THEY won multiple World Series. The Munch clowns are insufferable bores who should go play with their baby dolls.
April 14th, 2026 at 5:49 pm
Rod Munch Says:
April 14th, 2026 at 5:30 pm
Baker sucked before the bye.
From week 7 on he was trash
😂🤣😂
GO BUCS
April 14th, 2026 at 5:52 pm
Gripper
Don’t be late to pickle ball!!!!!…LOSER!!!!
GO BUCS
April 14th, 2026 at 6:01 pm
813bucboi … ‘Are you discrediting our early season win vs quality teams?’
OK, I’ll repeat: ‘every game ends up standing on its’ own merits’.
Sometimes bad teams beat much better teams. Sometimes teams get significantly better during the course of a season, and sometimes, later in the season, they really trounce teams that beat them early in the season. Some teams have the depth to overcome injuries to key players; some don’t.
April 14th, 2026 at 6:13 pm
Giver…i mean Gipper……josh allen and lamar can be criticized for not winning superbowls and they are still HOF qbs if they retired today. Its justa question of where they rank in the pantheon of greats. Baker and any team he has been on, is on, will be on will NEVER be a Sb contender. No, winning a wild card game every 4 years is not Sb caliber. Baker will be the 5th oldest starting Qb if Rodgers comes back for 2027, 4th oldest if Rodgers retires.
Look at the 4 Qbs older then baker that will be opening day starters…Rodgers, Stafford, goff and even Prescott have had a much better and productive careeer then Baker. Stafford, Goff, Dak have been on 5 total teams between the 3 of them. Baker was on 4 before his 28th birthday.
Like i said, if you did a qb only draft, baker would go #19 and that’s tenative. He’d go #19 and thtas with me giving him the nod over Tua (injury history), Murray, Daneil joines who was having a better 2025 then Baker-is 6-5 and 2 years younger and EVERY Qb from the 2025&2026 draft class.
In all likelihood, baker will slide down from #19 before he moves up. The 18 qbs who would go before him are clearly obvious. 15/18 are younger then baker. 12/18 are 2-4 years younger. 5 are like 5-7 years younger. And factor in incoming draft classes, it make s no sense to extend him or even keep him around, its pointless.
Sb contention and week 18 “showdowns” to go 8-9/9-8 and win a trashcan division. he’s not good enough or close enough like he’s trying to get over the hump like Allen and lamar.
Every game and every season he is fighting to be viable. He’s on his last legs as a starting qb. I cant see him being a opening day starter in 2028 and id bet the house ( well one of mine) that he wont be a opening day starter in 2029.
He’s too little and he’s more like a temu cam newton then a temu drew bress. He’s inaccurate (finishing 19th or lower in completion percentage 7/8 years or 25th or lower 6/8 seasons) and he can only play hero/panic ball. No, Mcvay will not want him even “if’ Stafford retires.
WTF would Mcbvay want a small, inaccurate, unathletic scrambler who cant read a defens with a sub par career record? Philly drafted Hurts after a 27 year old Wentz went 9-7, won a divison, threw for 4000 yards, 27td and 7 int with a wr corp that had zero w reach 500 yards and his top runner had 800 yards.
Again, Indy gave up on a 29 year old Wentz who was 9-8, led a good offense and had 3600 yards, 27td, and 7int…..a year after giving up a 31pick and eating dead cap space. Should have got rid of baker after 2025. The schedule is brutal too.
April 14th, 2026 at 6:27 pm
At week 7 game: we were 5-2 with a negative point differential. they were 6-4 gpoing into the Ram game and i did not hear one peep about baker being injured. The Bills game the team had almost 200 yards going thru 3 quarters and baker was still 16/28 for 173 yards, 1 td and 1 (surprise) costly second half interception in our own terriotory…Imagine that.
Baker also leaped head first into the endzone. Injury excuse… what procedure? and hes been here long enough. Wouldnt the team just say hey “our guy was injured” lets lock him up. Maybe ,just maybe he wsnt hurt. This season was very similar to 2023 and 2025 was actually baker 4th or 5th best season of his 8 year career.
I cant wait for you baker fans to exit and leave it to us real Bucs fan. Kenton,gipper and the others are OU fans. because no way could you feel this guy is the guy. 31, year 9 and 120+regular season starts.
April 14th, 2026 at 6:59 pm
Regardless, Glazers will soon sign him to a long term deal around 50 mil per year. I hope we get a hometown discount for less. They’ll sign him because they always play it safe.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:21 pm
Well, Baker is signed for this year. So I guess we’ll just have to make do, for another year at least. We’ve got a very QBcentric coaching staff this year. 3 new coaches who played QB. We should spend a later pick if we think Strand has the chance to be an NFL QB. Browning should improve with this staff also, and Bazelak too. Better start thinking about developing a QB, or trading for a good one. Or drafting one. If we have a bad enough year to get a decent pick. Granddad always said there ain’t no big dang reason to be in no big dang hurry. Let’s see how this season plays out. I think Baker has earned the right to give it one more shot just like Coach Bowles has. Who knows? Even I know that.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:25 pm
To all the idiots on this site who don’t even know that Baker has played 8 NFL seasons, not 9 here are a few more verifiable facts. Baker 1st 8 years in NFL has better W-L record than last year MVP Mathew Stafford first 8 years in NFL. Moreover, Baker threw for more TD’s and fewer INT’s than Stafford first 8 years. Accordingly, the idiots here would have buried Stafford after year 8 in Detroit. The Glazer’s and Licht know talent and will happily pay Baker $50mill per year for 3 year extension. I repeat, when they do, will Munch and you other clowns just go away? Finally, Stafford playoff record first 8 years Detroit 0-3. Mayfield playoff record 2-3. Your sweetheart ,Herbert playoff record 0-3. You idiots make the W-L rules and when they get fed back to you, suddenly they aren’t important.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:40 pm
Gipper. You reckon they’ve already offered 3 years at 50 per? I would bet they have. Baker knows 3 years from now that won’t be top 20 QB money. If he plays this year without a contract beyond that then that’ll be his final year in Tampa. I would hate that and I would bet Licht and the Glazers would hate that too. Look for a 4 year 225 million with 150 guaranteed.
April 14th, 2026 at 7:57 pm
GIVER….Wtf do you compare baker to Stafford??? he is not in his stratosphere. Stafford is a HOF, MVP, SB Champion.super human specimen. Its laughable. You guys compare baker to Favre-Brees and Stafford. Its laughable. Stafford at 33 netted a 26 year old Jared Goff and 2 #1s in a trade.
baker would not net a swap that would result in moving up 10 spots at 31 years old. baker and #15 could not get you a top 5 pick in this years weak draft. Do you think the Jets would give us #2 for baker and #15??? No way in hell.
Gipper 32/32 GMS would take herbert over Baker in a half second. Put Baker on the chargers and the Afc West (lol) and put herbert here on this team in the nfc South. No Broncos, no cheifs but the panthers, saints and falcons lol.
Herbert has to duel with mahomes and baker has to duel with Bryce Young lol. Common sense will tell you herbert would benefit by going to a lower level of competition and Baker would suffer in the AFc west.
Nobody here is in love with Herbert. he is a tier 2 Qb with tier 1 ability. He set a record by getting over 14k his first 3 years despite being on the bench the first 2 games.
I would have thought he would have done more the last 4 years but all that said he completely dumps on baker n every conceivable way possible. You left out that desppite coming into the leauge 2 years later and being 3 years younger he has more winning seasons (4-3), a better career record(52-43 vs 58-62. So herbert would have to 6-19 over the next 2 seasons to get baker record lol.
More 4000 yard seasons (3-2) including a 5000 yard season. Herbert turned 28 last month. baker began his Tampa redemption at 28 (lol).We would be lucky to have herbert. remeber that espn analyst said AFTER Baker 2024 season that Tampa would be his SB pick oif they had herbert over baker?
April 14th, 2026 at 8:10 pm
Spirited discussion with several valid points all around. Thanks to you all.
My takeaway = TB should trade for Justin Herbert.
But what if LAC doesn’t want to trade Justin Herbert? Should we jettison our starting QB? If so, who will be our new QB?
April 14th, 2026 at 8:18 pm
225M FOR WHO?!?!?!? BAKER??? Man a quarter of billlion dollars for a retread turd? They better not and no, they did not offer him a contract. His camp could counter with a 2 yr/100M deal that would allow him mback into free agency at 34. But they didnt offer him jack, hes trash. I bet the analytics and business departemnt is like get rid of this BUM. NOW!!!! Oh btw, Darnold is going into the second yr of a 3 year/100M deal-chew on that.
It hasnt been that great either. Life will go on after Baker mayfeild guys. Good lord it will. You guys are anxious over a mid tier qb with a bad cap #
April 14th, 2026 at 8:34 pm
Tampa2ATL:
Thank you for being mature. No, herbert is not on the trade block. I hate when baker fans say “well who do you want”. That is a awful take ppl say when it comes to the game’s most impactful/important position. Probably in all team sports.
More often then not, the Qb is more important to a franchise sucess then the HC. look at belichick before and after Brady. Not as blatant but Reid became a much better coach after mahomes. he went from one of the best HC of his era to one of the best of all time.
Philly went thru a revolving door at Qb until they settled on Hurts. i dont think they would have signed baker at anypoint but they certainly would not have kept him around this long. Philly discarded Foles, Bradford and Wentz by the time they were 28.
Garapolo was 29 and 14 months removed from a double digit 4th qtr lead in the Sb when the 49ers gave up the farm to take Trey Lance #3 overall in 2021.
You guys can ignore that and act like your going to draft JJ Watt or Garrett at #15 and they become HOF defender instantly. Good luck with that. And even if they are it wont move the needle.
You cant negate the importance of that position.
April 14th, 2026 at 8:49 pm
BBBB,
Geez , no point dealing with you numbskulls. I compared Baker 1st 8 years to Stafford 1st 8 years. In all metrics Baker 8 year stats better than Stafford first 8 years. Is that too complicated for you? Joe, should install a competency test to post here.
April 14th, 2026 at 8:54 pm
Funny how the guys on PFT are saying there are a lot of qb’s making more than Baker and they would take Baker over them all. Hilarious 😂 The boys that know football talent choose Baker over the rest. You can’t make this stuff up.
April 14th, 2026 at 8:59 pm
I still remember when Tom Brady was commenting on a play Baker made, he said “that has to be the best play I have ever seen by a quarterback”. Hilarious 😂
April 14th, 2026 at 9:13 pm
Realist is a baker bro. 2025 defense was 19th. offense was 21st. The bears defense wqas 29th and they went 11-6 and was a bonehead pick away from going to the nfc title game.
2024 Washington defense gave up more points then ours in a tougher divison (with the eventual Sb champs) and went 12-5 with a rookie Qb. Went all the way to the nfc title game with a defnse that gave up over 35ppg in the playoffs.
2023..defense was 6th or 7th in lowest points allowed. Canales was the OC. Oline was healthy. Baker, Cade, White, Evans and Godwin started ALL 17 games. offense was freaking 23rd en route to a 9-8 season after a 4-7 start.
2/3 years you have a OFFENSE finish in the 20s but 99.9% of the talk is about the defense sucking but I didnt realize we had the “greatest show on turf offense”.
Realist that just blew up your “defense” argument. 2023 we had one of the top units in allowing points. 2024 a team in a much tougher divison with a rookie Qb had a defense that allowed more points then ours went 12-5 and went to the title game. 2025 The bears with a second year Qb in a tougher divison went 11-6 and won a playoff game with the #29 defense-10 spots below ours.
The Cowboys could blame their defense last year. offense was like #2/#3 and i believe the defense was #32 but our offense for the second time in 3 years ranked in the 20s and last year ranked worse then the defense.
They not extending baker. I hear all the “talk” but nothing has been done. They said they “will” extend baker. What are they going to say? he stinks and having him be your Qb is the equivalent of purgatory?
baker is lucky this organization is so passive because most teams would have given up on him after 2025. It would have been smart to traded him and eat that dead cap for 2026 and be clear of it for 2027 completely.
Vita, Mike,LVD, Godwin, Otton would all be gone. i would have kept the Olineman, and everybody on a rookie contract and bargin bin 1 year band aid free agents. Id roll into 2027 with 125M in cap space and about 12 picks for 2027.
They did a hybrid of that. it makes no sense to extend or keep baker. The next HC is not going to want him. why not set up the next regime for a better chance. instead this route, yall dont want to get off the titanic until it hits the ocean floor.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:15 pm
Giver…Now compare staffor 10 seasons of 4000 yards or more to baker…Or his regular season mvp AND sb title…I guess its coming down the pike for baker lol
April 14th, 2026 at 9:22 pm
Baker and Darnold have the exact contract. well Darnold signed his a year later and is 500k more lol. Apples to apples huh ?? Id take Super bowl Sammy over “baker the bridge”. PFT likes baker. PFF hates him. Who are “all these teams” that would pay Bakey Bake 50M.
gipper you comparing Stafford to baker you lost the ounce of credibility yo had. Im surprised youd post that garbage. I guess Deangelo Russell is the same as luka and harden because none of the 3 has a title.
WTF makes you think baker will do the things in his 30s Stafford has?Stafford has been a baller thru 2 different eras of fottball. The Favre, Brees and Stafford comparisons are dumb man.
April 14th, 2026 at 9:29 pm
GIVER/GIPPER/GIMP..start your own Bucs, i mean Baker page and block/remove anyone who doesnt think baker is a sure fire, first ballot hof QBwith a sb and mvp in his fututre.
April 14th, 2026 at 10:29 pm
Interesting how most here bash Bowles as a pathetically bad head coach and in the same breath bash Baker for his mediocre record as the Bucs QB. In the back and forth here re the Stafford vs Baker comparison, one of the points made is that Stafford has won a Superbowl and Baker obviously hasn’t. Interesting that Stafford didn’t win a playoff game until he played for McVay. 0-3 playoff record with the Lions. He played on some decent Lions teams too in the mid 2010’s. That doesn’t mean I think Baker is better than Stafford. Right now, Stafford is top 3. But it does debunk a lot of the bs logic of some people here.
April 14th, 2026 at 10:58 pm
So we are really comparing Stafford to Baker ? Come on man. Baker couldn’t hold Jared Goff jockstrap let alone Stafford. Despite that 0-3 playoff record,McVay traded 2#1 picks for Stafford and a 26 year old Jared Goff who had a SB appearance and a 43-20 record under McVay, including 2-3 playoff wins and 2-3 seasons with 4000 yards. Jared Goff was a stat monster in La. Yet he was discarded for a 33 year old Stafford with that 0-3 playoff record. We are really comparing a HOF talent, a evervescent talent to a undersized ” scrapper”. Baker will never be half the player. Like I said , at 31 he couldnt even move you up from #15 to #5 and you guys know it. I think at best some dumb team MIGHT give you a 3rd Rd pick this year and nothing in 2027 in anticipation of that QB class and needing ammo. Baker is a bum. Sorry,not sorry.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:00 pm
Bbbb, PFF is heading to where it belongs, in the trash bin of history. Next Gen Stats will continue to evolve but PFF can’t quantify or justify player rankings, that’s why so many players scoff at it. It’s kinda like QBR rankings. It’s arbitrary. IMO. Baker ranked pretty high in QBR in 2025, higher than he ranked in 2024 I believe. Doesn’t make any sense. That’s probably why some Baker haters here haven’t been using QBR as a tool to bash Baker lately.
April 14th, 2026 at 11:24 pm
Oscar: you guys are either trolling and or just being stubborn and dig your heels in once you take a position. I don’t believe you guys truly believe the stuff you guys be saying. Id respect more if you guys just said Baker’s your guy and you gonna ride till the wheels fall off instead of this nonsense that he is a good to very good QB just a victim of circumstance. He’s approaching a decade in and has over 120 regular season starts. I know he’s the media darling but come on Oscar. Life will go on after Baker lol.
April 15th, 2026 at 9:16 am
Oh Oscar you ripped BBBB with the Stafford didn’t win anything under the Lions. These haters aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. They can’t comprehend what Ill effects a bad coach can have and Baker has NEVER had a good HC coach. Facts are facts. But yet he has numerous records. His time will come. Oh his time will come.
April 15th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Gipper nice rip yourself. Not a lot the “knownothings” can say about that!!!
April 15th, 2026 at 11:19 am
Baker would take 3-years & $150-MIL in a friggin HEARTBEAT. 💯 without a doubt.
April 15th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
These guys are cultist. I cannot believe they are trying to make this Stafford vs Baker thing a real thing. I’m used to dumb takes about Baker but I’m somewhat at a loss for words. Even Baker fans can’t believe this in their little misguided hearts and feeble brains. You guys notice that only 2-3 guys are pushing this narrative. I guess you guys are saying Baker will win MVPs and DBS in the next 5-6 years and wind up in Canton. Good grief man.
April 15th, 2026 at 7:55 pm
The amazing thing is BBBB, well there is no sense in going into all that is wrong with your logic because you will never understand how out there your thinking is. You don’t get it and you never will so there is no sense in trying to help you see. You can’t see beyond your nose, let alone the deeper issues of football.
April 15th, 2026 at 8:07 pm
BUCBLIND : You are a zealot. Baker stinks and I’ve given a staggering amount of evidence that he does. You guys like and act like Hurts, Goff and others just cake walked into perfect situations. BS. Philly was 4-12 Hurts rookie year. 9-8 his second year. Goff was 26 when he got traded to Detroit and they went 3-14 that first year. Houston won 11 games the 3 years before Stroud got there. Year one they went 10-7 and won a playoff game his rookie year. You guys bring up Baker went to a team that was 1-31 before him. When he got to Cleveland that same year they loaded him up with talent. Hunt, Landry. 2019-2020 Hooper,Njoku, Hunt,Chubb, Beckham and Landry were some serious names. And Baker played with some of the best Offensive lines in football. He had a young, eventual 2x COY. His record his 4 years in Cleveland is better then it is the 4 years he left. That is shocking. The guy is what he is. He has had 3 winning seasons in 8 years and all three times he went to the playoffs it came down to the last game of the season. Twice, the last quarter of the season. Stop with the Stafford and Brees nonsense.