Baker Mayfield The Alpha Male
May 13th, 2026
Dying breed.
The NFL needs more Baker Mayfields.
That was the word from Bucs passing game coordinator T.J. Yates. Yesterday, as part of all Bucs offensive coaches being available to the local pen and mic club, Yates was asked how the Bucs can still allow Baker Mayfield to be his own man — a devil-may-care style of play while also getting Mayfield to protect himself and indirectly protect the Bucs.
Yates said there is a happy medium but he has zero desire to dilute any of the vinegar that makes Mayfield a dawg of a player.
In fact, Yates said the NFL needs more Baker Mayfields.
“It’s really, really hard because you look for guys like Baker that have that competitive edge, you have that something about them, that it-factor that, in my opinion, is kind of going away at the quarterback position in this league,” Yates said. “And it is so refreshing to see a guy that just, you know, he has that [Yates clenches a fist] in him, and what that does for the guys in the locker room and the offensive linemen, the team, the running back, everybody around him.
“You don’t see [quarterbacks who play like Mayfield] very often these days in the league, and it’s so awesome to see. And you know [Mayfield’s style of play] does have its detriments at some point, because you don’t want him to get hurt, you don’t want to get dinged up.”
Yates said Mayfield’s mentality is infectious.
“He’s gonna play no matter what,” Yates said. “Like you’re gonna have to drag that guy off the field, because that’s just his competitive nature. But, you know, he’s got to dial it back a little bit. Got to calm that competitive edge down, but you don’t want to take his [fire] away because that’s what makes him great. And that’s what makes the rest of the team great.”
Yates was then asked why quarterbacks who play with so much grit like Mayfield are becoming rare in the NFL. He suggested too many quarterbacks are “softer” and “mildly-mannered” and thought that due to the pressures of social media have become a “little too sensitive.”
Then Yates almost got whimsical about Mayfield.
“Baker is one of the last of a dying breed of those alpha quarterbacks,” Yates said. “Baker is just different.”
Mayfield’s style is contagious on the team. Joe’s seen plenty of times where Mayfield ran over a linebacker, or when he stiff-armed Nick Bosa for a wild conversion late in the game, after which the Bucs defense nearly jumped onto the field because they were so jacked over the play.
The sad thing about all of this is,when Mayfield gets hurt, not only is he not a top-shelf quarterback, he may actually hinder the team. The evidence came last year after the bye.
But Joe would rather have the fiery Mayfield than the quarterback he would become if you ripped out his soul.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:14 am
Strange that posters here to claim to be all knowledgeable about football think Baker is a bum. And they claim they go back to the Jack Thompson era. How soon they forget.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:18 am
Mayfield does slide sometimes. I’d like to see him throw the ball away a bit more if the play isn’t there on first or second down. Don’t try to force the ball through a 3 inch window. Even on third down if ahead and there’s nothing available. And of course always slide on a run on first or second down. Make stuff like that a priority…
If the QB, the O-Line, the D-line and the secondary stay relatively healthy we will win a lot of games. Very good backups for each of those are crucial. I think we are pretty set everywhere except another corner wouldn’t hurt.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:22 am
Baker definitely hurt his throat when he choked in DEC lol…
his poor play after being “hurt” wasnt all physical….he made tons of poor decision down the stretch…
lets see if he can finally out it all together and get the BUCS to an NFC Championship game…NO EXCUSES for him or Bowles
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 9:23 am
The NFL needs more QB’s incapable of handling the big moments when the season is on the line????
Hard pass. We’ve seen where all the heroics have landed us.
Given that he’s in the worst division in football and has backed into two playoff appearances with only one win, it just doesn’t qualify him as an elite QB.
The two best QB’s in Bucs history (Brad Johnson and Tom Brady) won because they weren’t trying to be reckless cowboys.
Plus, they knew how to perform under the ultimate pressure in the biggest games.
In that realm, Mayfield just isn’t the guy. And probably never will be.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:31 am
It’s a fine line between alpha grit and unregulated chaos.
You know who else had that grit to him, James Winston.
You’ve got the Joe’s, the coaches and the fans sitting there, hypnotized by the vinegar talk. Jameis didn’t just have vinegar; he had a whole gallon of industrial strength acid sloshing around his head. My gosh, he would stand there in front of a bunch of grown men and start chewing his fingers.
I see a pattern in Bucs QB’s that us fans get behind too easily. Guys that don’t get it done in the end.
Look at all that Alpha energy! Look at that vinegar! They want to win! Some may call it infectious. I call it a rash. That devil may care style where the devil comes back at the biggest moments.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:31 am
The Bucs do not have an international game this year. The Saints and Falcons both do, however.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:13 am
I have been saying it since he got here how lucky we are to have him fall in our lap. Now let’s get “Born Again” Baker signed before the season starts so we don’t have to hear about it all season and position the nucleus of this team for years to come. Maybe just maybe all these new faces on Defense will make Todd look like he actually knows what he is doing. lol
May 13th, 2026 at 10:17 am
The best thing you can do to cut down Baker’s injuries is have an offensive line that does not have swinging gates at the Guard position. Hopefully, Bredeson, Mauch, and Schrauth can be that. And the rest of the guards never see the field.
The best way to cut down Baker’s interceptions is to have a defense that can get off the field on 3rd and 28…
May 13th, 2026 at 10:30 am
Alpha’s are winners and Coach Yates knows it.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:34 am
If oline stays healthy gonna be something to watch let’s go bucs
May 13th, 2026 at 10:36 am
The guy stunk last year down the stretch
He should have been benched for his poor performance
We need an Alpha winner, nothing less
At the end of the day
The only thing that matters is the scoreboard
May 13th, 2026 at 10:36 am
50 years of history tells me there is a 50/50 chance that the owners blow it.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:47 am
He’s horrible in prime time, he’s proven that when the games really matter and a critical play is needed to win, he makes that critical play for the opponent and loses. Interceptions, fumbles, errant passes, eating sacks, poor decisions. He’s a cartoon character.
I was a supporter. He proved me wrong.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:47 am
@LynchMob50, Do you have a better option?
May 13th, 2026 at 10:48 am
Baker Mayfield ranks 22nd of 24 qualifying QBs on adjusted completion percentage on throws 10-19 yards in the air, per PFF
18th of 26 qualifying on throws 20+ air yards
Remember, adjusted comp % is completions + drops and not counting throwaways/tipped balls.
Why does the NFL need more QBs like this? Keep the puff pieces coming Joe, Bake needs all the encouragement he can get.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:05 am
The owners are not football people. They apparently never played football at least not at a high school or college level. They are financial business people. Therefore it is logical to assume any decision they make is based on finance and business modeling. Those decisions are cold and calculating with self interest coming first.
Based on what I have looked into Baker should get something near 50mil/4 years. I will be surprised if he gets that here in Tampa. I believe duration will matter more to Baker than dollars. Duration signals “You really are our guy”. That’s what Baker needs to hear, not words said but words written in contract form. The written word is 90% more effective than the spoken word. Just ask ME13. I don’t believe any sleep was lost by the owners over his departure. Jason drafted him and he probably feels some sadness but business is business and the owners run the business.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:11 am
If Baker is alpha, what does that make Brock Purdy then? I’ll hang up and listen….
– Substation Mike from San Fran
May 13th, 2026 at 11:12 am
Baker is kind of a fusion of Jeff Garcia, Jameis Winston, and Tom Brady.
We just need more of the Tom Brady and Jeff Garcia elements on a regular basis, and less of the Jameis Winston crap.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:26 am
When was this measured Bee? Who was he throwing to? Baker is very accurate. For details, watch the Seattle game last year. Baker’s accuracy falls off when he’s under siege. Like when both 1st and 2nd string guards are out for the year. I’ll bet his stats in 2024 were excellent. O-line was healthy. It’s a completely different game when you cannot step into your passes.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:27 am
The alpha child.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:37 am
813, we all can tell you never played the game but when you are hurt as many times as Lavonte David said he WAS HURT it causes you to change the way you think in the heat of the moment. But like I said, you know nothing about any of that. Baker IS the alpha qb and we have him and it will be for a while!!!! PART-A!!!🥳😂
May 13th, 2026 at 11:43 am
Stpete, Bee will never figure anything about “football talent” out. He just don’t know what he don’t know and that will never change but Baker IS HERE and WILL BE HERE FOR A LONG TIME!!!🥳 $50 MILLION A YEAR FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS.
May 13th, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Hopefully with Gainwell and the team stays healthy, he won’t feel he has to take chances ,run the ball controll the clock and everything will fall into place! Football has been like that since the dawn of time
May 13th, 2026 at 12:05 pm
Every QB,s accuracy falls off when they’re ” under siege ” It doesn’t take Einstein to figure that one out!
May 13th, 2026 at 12:07 pm
How many times he was clutch in big games and big moments.
May 13th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
@What it is
we can tell you’re as soft as a kennel of puppies lol!!!!
stick to checkers and scrabble
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 12:31 pm
LANshark … ‘The best thing you can do to cut down Baker’s injuries is have an offensive line that does not have swinging gates at the Guard position. The best way to cut down Baker’s interceptions is to have a defense that can get off the field on 3rd and 28…’
Interesting to me that folks use last year’s OLine as an excuse for so many things, including Baker’s injuries apparently. Equally interesting though that in 17 games in each of his 3 years here, Baker was sacked 40 times in 2023 & also 2024, but only 36 times in 2025. OLine apparently did a little something right.
Also intrigues me that the defense gets zapped for being responsible for some of Baker’s ‘issues’. Looking at your comment, the Bucs’ defense allowed 92 third down conversions in 2023 and 80 in 2024, but only 79 in 2025. So in that perspective, they improved every year. Bucs’ defense had some real ‘issues’ themselves in 2025, but 3rd down conversions wasn’t one of them.
And BTW, Bucs’ defense has ZERO to do with Baker throwing interceptions (our defense was sorta kinda sitting on the bench when Baker opts to throw the ball to the other team?). Just for info, Baker threw 16 INTs in 2024 (his ‘good year’), but only 11 INTs in 2025 (his ‘bad year’). Baker had a lot of company in terms of INTs though. For instance, Bryce Young also threw 11 INTs, as did Patrick Mahomes & Bo Nix. Trevor Lawrence threw 12, Justin Herbert threw 13, Sam Darnold threw 14 INTs and Tua threw 15. But the winner was … Geno Smith with 17 INTs last year. QBs like Josh Allen, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott & Joe Flacco all threw 10 INTs. Baker didn’t do all that bad.
May 13th, 2026 at 12:51 pm
Still waiting to hear of a better option from the detractors.
They sure like to bash Baker but it’s been crickets on the replacement front.
People ragging on Baker about not being clutch… pretty sure he had to score to win games in the last minute like 3 times to start last season and he got it done.
It’s there, he needs to control his gun slinger impulses at times and stay healthy. That’s it. He does that and Robinson proves a better play caller than Grizz… I bet you turkeys won’t be complaining then.
May 13th, 2026 at 12:54 pm
Defense Rules Says: Interesting to me that folks use last year’s OLine as an excuse for so many things, including Baker’s injuries apparently. And BTW, Bucs’ defense has ZERO to do with Baker throwing interceptions
BINGO!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 12:54 pm
Baker was mostly terrible after ‘WEEK 6 MVP’ chants went to his head. In week 7, vs the Lions, he was awful. Week 8 vs the Saints, because the defense singlehandedly won the game, people forget that Baker had a bad game that week as well.
So we was bad well before the bye.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Saskbucs Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 12:51 pm
Still waiting to hear of a better option from the detractors.
———-
Baker already has the job for 2026, it’s up to him to prove he deserves to keep the job, and he has every chance in the world to do so.
But if he falls flat on his face yet again, then you move on already. The Bucs have wasted years now in a cupcake division watching Baker choke in the biggest situations. He needs to put together a full season and actually win some meaningful games – if he does that, then he’ll be here for a long time.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Saskbucs Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 12:51 pm
Still waiting to hear of a better option from the detractors.
we dont know whats behind door #2 just wait…as the season unfolds, some doors will open and some will close lol
mentioning Bakers performance in DEC isnt bashing him…its stating facts…saying that his INTs are due to him being a gun slinger or moxy or injures is all BS…
bottom line is, if he wins enough this year, he’ll be paid….not if he’s gone and BUCS will have a new QB
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 1:02 pm
Rod Munch
PREACH!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 1:31 pm
Bama Rich Says:
“@LynchMob50, Do you have a better option?”
Nothing can be changed for 2026 so this season is already a failed mission.
Only thing left are the results of the inept scheme of Bowles. And Baker not being clutch.
My preference is to get a true franchise QB in the draft with a solid veteran backup to teach the kid how to play.
Winston was a fraud from the beginning and I saw it a mile away. The Glazers did not and they paid for it with zero playoff games.
Malcom Glazer was the perfect blend of business man and football mind. He gathered the right people around him to get to the apex of the NFL. And he did not settle for anything less than a title. He went for it. All in!
That has to be the mindset going forward. Not worrying about feelings being hurt. You’re either good enough or you’re gone.
Baker will never be that man. Move on and don’t stop until we have title #3.
As TB12 would say: LFG!!!
May 13th, 2026 at 1:43 pm
For those that laboriously search for statistics to build their case that Baker is no good, I say this; The quarterback is a cog in the wheel. Baker runs the ball when he feels he needs to run the ball. Otherwise his job is to hand the ball to a runner or pass the ball to a receiver. The QB may have some control at the line of scrimmage over play calls but he doesn’t develop game plans or call plays. He has no control over the play of others. He has no control over the defense. He has no control over the HC or major game decisions made by the HC. Perhaps his “footwork” isn’t the best but his arm strength is very good and he can throw darts. But most important of all is his heart and demeanor and leadership qualities.
With some improvements and good luck at other elements of the team Baker’s story might be much different. It is a team sport. The Bucs went to the SB with Brad Johnson and won. Various factors came into play for him to become a SB winning QB. He was regarded as a journeyman QB. Place whatever ranking on Baker that you will but he’s better than most and not a journeyman.
The next contract for Baker may perhaps unfairly define him and place him into the journeyman category by the media. Baker must know this and that is why I believe he likely won’t accept less than 4 years. Knowing that confidence has been placed in him will boost his own confidence and elevate his play. That is to say if he has players around him.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:46 pm
2-7 record down the stretch last year speaks for itself. He contributed to it as much as the rest of the team. The real good QB’s in this league remain consistent game in and game out and year in and year out……lets see if he can bounce back from that this season. Are you a leader and a good QB Baker? The time to prove that you are is right now, this season. I’ll be watching closely. I have doubts about you and all of your leadership and hunger, blah blah. Please prove me wrong. Prove it.
May 13th, 2026 at 1:55 pm
This thread is hilarious
May 13th, 2026 at 2:01 pm
So much of what is being said about Baker is the easiest to say.
It’s easy to be negative.
It’s easy to be a parrot.
It’s easy to find all sorts of statistics meaningless relevant or not.
It’s easy to be an armchair football analyst.
It’s easy to feel important when you are anonymous.
The easiest thing of all is to be “just a fan” and take the positives to heart. The players on the team are just men. Constructive criticism is fair. If the players are doing their best and that’s usually obvious then support them. Trying to tear them down in a comment section does nothing for them, it only satisfies your need for negativity.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
The players are very well paid to provide entertainment for those that enjoy the show. However, in the grand scheme of things they are nothing more than chattel to the owners. That’s something the fans should take into account. Be critical but not brutal.
May 13th, 2026 at 2:17 pm
BAKER IS THE NFL MVP*!!!!!!!!
*Comment valid only through Week 6. Does not apply to primetime or playoff games. Additional exceptions may apply.