Is The Randy Moss Effect Coming For Baker Mayfield?
May 13th, 2026
A keen Bucs observer and a friend of Todd Bowles thinks Baker Mayfield will have significant challenges this season courtesy of Mike Evans preferring to play with Brock Purdy and the 49ers.
Yes, the Bucs have a strong receiving corps, but Pat Kirwan, the former Jets linebackers coach and personnel chief says “replacing Big Mike is an issue,” so he told his SiriusXM NFL Radio audience.
Kirwan wasn’t just throwing out a one-liner, he was sharing experience.
“When you lose the presence of a guy like Mike, I remember what happened in Minnesota when Randy Moss left. Right away the quarterback was in trouble because he was seeing a hundred different coverages rather than one rolled coverage every time Randy was on the field,” Kirwan said. “And [former Vikings QB Daunte] Culpeper said to me, he goes, ‘it’s just different now when I go out under center and I look out and they’re doing all kinds of stuff because they didn’t fear anyone when Randy was gone.’
“And I think that’s gonna happen here [in Tampa]. This is gonna be a little different for Baker because people, hey’re not gonna go crazy with the stuff they had to worry about with Mike Evans. And I thought [Baker] did a great job of every time they tried to just play Evans with one, he found them and threw to him. And I don’t know how that’s gonna come. And some will say, Emeka Egbuka will do it and maybe he will.”
Kirwan was basically saying what nobody likes talking publicly about at One Buc Palace: life without No. 13.
Mayfield wasn’t joking when he said repeatedly the past few years, “the offense runs through Mike.” It did.
Still, Joe thinks Mayfield and the Bucs offense should adjust just fine assuming the offensive line stays healthy. That reality should give the Bucs a reliable running game and enough pass blocking to offset any Mayfield chaos caused by the absence of Evans.
And while Evans was a legend, Mayfield got plenty of experience without Evans and the Bucs were 4-4 last season without him, including huge wins at Seattle and at home against Evans’ beloved 49ers.
For those wondering, the Vikings improved their record a game to 9-7 in the season following Moss leaving.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:22 pm
Losing a first ballot HOFer who is built like no other guy currently playing in the NFL is a huge loss. When you have a guy who is open every single time they’re one-on-one with an opponent, it means defenses are constantly rolling coverage to help with Evans, like Kirwan said.
But man, people are acting like Godwin doesn’t exist. By the end of the year he was looking like himself – it was just hard to see that with how poorly Baker was playing.
If Zac Robinson is smart, he’s reviewing the 2024 film. If he does, what he’s going to see is that Godwin was dominating in the short passing game with a lot of slants and inside routes. That’s where Baker is at his best, when he gets into a rhythm and gets the ball out quick, and doesn’t hold it and get happy feet. It’s not a knock on Baker saying that – every team should use guys in ways that make the most of their ability, and Baker, when he can just quickly read and react, he’s a lot more accurate and less prone to dumb plays.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:25 pm
He only played five games last season. The offense will be okay, we just have to fix the defense and I think we just might have. Healthy and deeper Online is also key.
Gotta wait and see.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:29 pm
Baker’s played without Mike before. He’ll be just fine. Mike blew all credibility when he decided Brock over Baker.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Are people dumb I watched Baker Still have a great 1st half of the year even without Evans an Godwin he had Tez an Emeka both looking like the real deal soon as Baker Got injured is when things went down hill an I think Teddy Hurst is faster then Evans I know he’s not even about he is more like Pickens an Higgins IMO an that’s amazing he will do just fine there are enough weapons in this offense to Replace Mike Evans an this is Exactly why the Bucs Drafted Emeka Egbuka last year at 19 an then Jmac the year before an then Hurst this year also Tez last year they are going to make sure that when Evans an when Chris wants to Retire they will be Fine I fully expect Chris to have a Huge year but the guy I think we all need to watch this year is Jmac I think he will really breakout this year sucks so bad he got hurt last year
May 13th, 2026 at 9:42 pm
This is where a better, more experienced OC comes into play.
Mitigate what the D is throwing at you with a healthy dose of motion, play action, rub routes, check options, etc.
Baker doesn’t like what he sees, check to the RB or TE leak.
We have more than enough at WR. Not saying Evans is replaced because you don’t just do that but Emeka, JMac, Chris and Hurst have the ability to run crisp routes and get open, Robinson needs to scheme it properly.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:42 pm
Get the both TE’s totally involved, use Gainwell as a receiver more , then Hurst as the X. I think the biggest challenge losing ME13 will be in the red zone. Think the Bucs have a lot of weapons and hope Zac can use them a lot better than Grizzard.
May 13th, 2026 at 9:49 pm
BuccinBaker6, Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Are people dumb I watched Baker Still have a great 1st half of the year even without Evans an Godwin he had Tez an Emeka both looking like the real deal soon as Baker Got injured is when things went down hill
——–
What was the play where “Baker Got injured”?
May 13th, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Every QB misses a thousand yards WR
You’re basically losing over 25% of your passing yards
Baker Mayfield missed Mike Evans last season
Mike receiving yards took a dip, so did Baker passing yards
That’s something to be expected
May 13th, 2026 at 9:54 pm
Fans that think baker isn’t a great QB are falling for the same trap Cleveland fans fell for, and what those fans would do to have baker this past few seasons.. the dude was really hurt last year and gutted through it (same thing happened in bakers last year in Cleveland) and it was a tale of two seasons. Look at Patrick Mahomes a couple of years ago when he was hurt, not the same MVP caliber show stopper. Baker will never be on his level but he absolutely can be a top 5 QB with the right peices and we absolutely have the right peices.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:00 pm
Mike was a factor in ONE of t of the 8 he played in last year. I’m 2024, despite Baker throwing for 4600 yards, Mike barely scratched 1k yards.
He’s NOT that integral to the team
May 13th, 2026 at 10:04 pm
Evans accounted for 30% of Mayfield td passes so without him Baker has difficulty finding anybody else. It’s almost guaranteed his interceptions will go up because he can’t presnap read defenses and at the 1st sign of pressure he gets nervous and gets the happy feet like a squirrel in traffic. There’s no way he doesn’t struggle unless Egbuka and Godwin can step up and Hurst can catch on quickly
May 13th, 2026 at 10:08 pm
Mike Evans presence alone draws double teams, usually it’s the Free Safety
That alone benefits the offense a lot, it gives the other WRs opportunities
And you add in his usual 1,000 yards
His presence will be missed
May 13th, 2026 at 10:30 pm
Teams use to throw double coverage at Mike Evans
I don’t think they will double Emeka, JMac, Godwin, Hurst, Tez
That will free up the Free Safety to make more plays on the ball
A high powered offense always misses their WR1
May 13th, 2026 at 10:42 pm
That’s not really how defenses work at any level much less the NFL.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:49 pm
Mike, and his many talented years, are unfortunately nearing the end of his NFL career. Ultimately, the Bucs had to figure out a way to propel their offense without Mike. Now is the time for the Bucs brain-trust to figure out how and with whom.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:50 pm
I think the WR corps is going suck without Evans.
Just a hunch.
5-12 and Bowles is FINALLY fired!
May 13th, 2026 at 10:50 pm
Evans is not Moss.
May 13th, 2026 at 10:52 pm
If the offensive line can run block effectively, the passing game will come along eventually. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. Am I expecting the first 4-6 games to see Mayfield pass for 350+ yards those first few games of the season? Hell no, but I do expect the OC to make the necessary adjustments as needed and scheme guys open.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:01 pm
I really hate this trope that’s out there about how defenses play against elite WR’s. Without even understanding anything about how defenses are called, shouldn’t it be obvious that if teams were actually double covering, bracketing, rolling coverage on every snap that there’s no way they could put up the numbers they did?
May 13th, 2026 at 11:12 pm
Rod . Ram game. Just before the half. The bridgewater debacle. That’s where baker was hurt. Surprised you missed it.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:23 pm
Culpepper’s entire game was throwing up the deep ball to Moss. Two completely different situations.
Evans was the greatest Buc WR off all time and one of the best every in the NFL. But the guy has 1 or 2 decent years left max. He was constantly hobbled and had to head to the sidelines after every catch.
Kirwan doesn’t mention the loaded WR room and a bigger focus on running the ball with Robinson calling plays.
Baker still has plenty of weapons and he can now spread the ball out to all his WRs, Otton, Bucky and Gainwell.
I’ll miss Evans for what he was, but I’ll bet he doesn’t play 14 full games this season and retires before his contract is up.
May 13th, 2026 at 11:34 pm
Like you said JOE baker got plenty of experience with Evans missing 8 games. Life without Mike happened already for half the season last year. It’s go time. Honestly he couldn’t have left at a better time. Sad he’s gone but that’s water under the bridge
May 13th, 2026 at 11:57 pm
Let ‘em bake Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 11:12 pm
Rod . Ram game. Just before the half. The bridgewater debacle. That’s where baker was hurt. Surprised you missed it.
——-
I thought the injury is why he was playing poorly – yet he was playing awful in the 4 games before he got hurt. Also, in that Rams game he was playing terrible before he got hurt.
It’s almost like the injury excuse is just an excuse for a really inconsistent QB.
We’ll find out this upcoming season I suppose.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:00 am
Stubby Ryan Says:
May 13th, 2026 at 10:50 pm
Evans is not Moss.
———
Well, with all due respect to Jerry Rice, Moss is the greatest WR of all time.
Moss is the only receiver I ever saw give those all-time great Buccaneers defenses, which are literally the best pass defenses in the history of the NFL, any problems. Moss, when he wanted to play, was unstoppable. I mean how many times did we see Moss completely covered, then just jump straight up in the air, catch the ball, have Lynch destroy him, and that Gumby b-word just held on to the ball and was A-OK. No other guy could do that.
So, no, Mike isn’t Moss, but no one is.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:22 am
Losing Mike while keeping “someone else” will haunt the franchise like when Doug Williams left. Nauseating.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:31 am
Rod saving me a lot of keystrokes here. Well written.
May 14th, 2026 at 12:55 am
With less injuries I think our offense can be better. I think we improved at OC, RB, and I hope we see continued growth for EE and J-Mac and a fully recovered Godwin.
May 14th, 2026 at 2:21 am
Yeah Munch it’s too bad Baker was hurt so bad with so many injuries Lavonte David came out and said he couldn’t believe Baker was suiting up to play. Like he said Baker was so damaged last year. Im sure that didnt effect his play at all huh?? But that’s Baker, if the coach doesn’t have a good backup he will play hurt. He is a team guy huh!! He doesn’t care if it hurts his stats. If the team needs him, he’ll play. Heck, he played with a torn labrum and a broken shoulder half the season one year. Tough as they come.
May 14th, 2026 at 2:55 am
BBBB: squats are the most taxing lift right up there with deadlift(s). What in the world are deadlifts BBBB? I have never heard them called deadlifts. It’s Deadlift. No one, that knows anything about lifting, calls them deadlifts, come on now, no one. You might as well said bench presses are taxing. And, again, it’s not the most taxing, power cleans are much more taxing but by saying deadliftS I can tell you really never have played a sport or spent time in a weight room. Hilarious. It’s better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt BBBB. Seriously ROFLMAO
Bottom line, you really shouldn’t be on a sports blog trying to act like you know what you are talking about, because you dont, and now we all know you dont. It was bound to happen. Deadlifts…?
May 14th, 2026 at 5:24 am
BBBB, your opinion about Baker Mayfield does not fall into the category as a HATER, but does but you into the same mentality that has cemented the Baker boys and their deep feelings about Baker. I will not debate was Baker hurt or not, that would require a medical evaluation and neither of us have that pay grade. Baker must have structure and discipline to be successful, he has had little of either since entering the NFL. Lack of structure and discipline were the catalyst that led to the Bucs collapse in the second half of 2025! That collapse falls at the feet of one person who will be there long after Baker is gone. The opinion of an uneducated old person who is not one of the B-boys.
May 14th, 2026 at 6:27 am
Prior to last season, the Bucs’ record was horrible in games that Evans didn’t play. The fact that they were 4-4 without him last season shows that he wasn’t as important to the offense as he used to be.
Really, it comes down to the red zone. Hopefully, Robinson figures out a way to get the big tight ends more involved using 12 or even 13 personnel in the red zone.
May 14th, 2026 at 6:43 am
“”If Zac Robinson is smart, he’s reviewing the 2024 film. If he does, what he’s going to see is that Godwin was dominating in the short passing game with a lot of slants and inside routes.””
Right on the money there home boy.
May 14th, 2026 at 6:54 am
“With all due respect to Jerry rice, moss is the greatest.” No he isn’t. Only a simple brain evaluates based on long speed and jumping ability only. Route running is a thing, work ethic is a thing, CONSISTENCY IS A THING. No one ever caught Jerry rice from behind either. What Jerry rice did at 40 years old is so far and away more physically impressive than what Tom Brady did in his 40s. Standing in the pocket and throwing a football requires zero FITNESS, and recovery. Rice needed to sprint and run routes, get hit. His raw numbers year over year are incomprehensible- especially considering he didn’t play on this super soft, SORRY non hitting RPO era. Rice had to run real routes and catching posts in the middle of the field with the Steve Atwater’s of the world wanting to decapitate him – and his numbers are still better than any receiver playing today that lives in the slot or catching cute smoke screens. Jerry Rice is arguably the greatest football player that ever lived. You people remind me of LeBron James fans that has never spent a second watching Michael Jordan
May 14th, 2026 at 7:41 am
It’s not a direct comparison of the players. Stay focused.
It’s a direct comparison of how Evans, much like Moss manipulates defensive coverages just being on the field and how that changes the pass game as we all saw this past year as well as 2024.
Mike commanded whatever CB would guard him and the help side safety which alters the rest of the matchups in the defensive backfield. When we no longer had that, it got hard for our offense to move the ball and stretch the field on a drive-to-drive or game-to-game basis.
The biggest positive in having to deal with that this year, is that Robinson can’t miss something he didn’t have so now he doesn’t have a playbook full of pass concepts he’d have to amend, because the 2-man magnet is missing.
May 14th, 2026 at 8:25 am
That depends on Hurst. If he can be that X, teams will have to roll their coverage. All respect to Mike, but he came off the field after every catch. His hammys were a real problem, especially at his age. Time for youth to be served. Hopefully Hurst makes us glad Mike left.
May 14th, 2026 at 9:01 am
Losing a first ballot hall of fame receiver who didn’t produce at all last season and has chronic hamstring issues which only get worse with age (Julio Jones anybody), isn’t that hard to stomach or replace the production. We seem to lose Evans every year for a short-ish time. It happened the season before for several games. Evans will be lucky to play 8 games this season and see the second year of his contract. I love Mike Evans, but let’s face it, his hamstrings have always been an issue and it’s time. As Belichick correctly said, it’s better to get rid of a player a year too soon than a year too late. Last season was the season too late.
May 14th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Godwin will get hurt probably running a slant and getting blown up by a linebacker ,they play the afc north this season its comming… Run Run Run please!
May 14th, 2026 at 9:25 am
“If Zac Robinson is smart, he’s reviewing the 2024 film.”
– – – – – – – –
Agree with everything you said. And using the ’24 film seems like such an obvious thing. So why the hell did Grizz not do that?? Are these guys just so damn smart (or think they are) that they get a bad case of stupid?!
May 14th, 2026 at 9:50 am
Guys are clearly missing the point, it’s not about how healthy Mike was nor how well he did statistically, it’s literally the function of the defense and how Evans’ presence effects that whether he’s balling out or not.
Go watch Egbukas first TD in Atlanta, it’s literally in the wake of Mike carrying a CB AJ Terrell up the sideline while putting the safety in a lose-lose situation having to either account for Mike getting on top of him while also seeing Egbuka running straight at him.
Eye in the sky don’t lie, no matter how you personally feel about Mikes’ performance in recent years, his ability to cause conflict in coverage is hard to measure numbers.
May 14th, 2026 at 10:09 am
I’m sure losing one of the best X receivers in the NFL will have an impact…but Baker has already dealt with some of that in those 9 games M1K3 missed last season…six of those were wins.
Maybe having a defense that can stop an opponent on 3 & 28 will help offset some of that, oh and also having all 4 of his starting offensive linemen back to starting again all at the same time might also help it a bit.
But it’s definitely a concern.
May 14th, 2026 at 10:37 am
Man people are sleeping on the fact that Baker will have HUGE motivation with Evans leaving town to choose ole Purdy over him!! That dude is gonna ball out to prove to Mike he made the wrong choice!! Just watch…and nothing will make me happier than for the Bucs to make the playoffs while Evans is watching from home!! Yeah, im italian and hold grudges like that
May 14th, 2026 at 10:38 am
Munch, the marching band boy,keeps claiming that Baker faked injuries last year. What I remember was Baker not talking about being banged up. Always a mistake to let opponents know where you are hurting. People who actually played the game know why. Munch greatest injury in high school was chapped lips from blowing on his clarinet.
May 14th, 2026 at 10:43 am
With good protection there will be plenty of time for this group of immensely talented receivers to get open. On every passing play.
This is going to be a season to remember.
May 14th, 2026 at 10:54 am
Warren Brooks Lynch Says:
May 14th, 2026 at 9:50 am
Guys are clearly missing the point, it’s not about how healthy Mike was nor how well he did statistically, it’s literally the function of the defense and how Evans’ presence effects that whether he’s balling out or not.
——————————————-
Are you stupid? How did Evans help the team last year or the year before during the double digit games he NEVER got on the field? His presence affects ZERO when he’s on the bench or didn’t even dress. The dude missed 10 games the last two seasons and his injury problems are only get worse. Never in the history of football did an injury prone player suddenly get less injury prone well into his 30’s.
May 14th, 2026 at 11:07 am
Brandon, can you even read? How literate are you? 5th, 6th grade tops?
“Go watch Egbukas first TD in Atlanta, it’s literally in the wake of Mike carrying a CB AJ Terrell up the sideline while putting the safety in a lose-lose situation having to either account for Mike getting on top of him while also seeing Egbuka running straight at him.”
“Eye in the sky don’t lie, no matter how you personally feel about Mikes’ performance in recent years, his ability to cause conflict in coverage is hard to measure numbers.”
“It’s a direct comparison of how Evans, much like Moss manipulates defensive coverages just being on the field and how that changes the pass game as we all saw this past year as well as 2024.”
You clearly can’t tell the difference between generating production and influencing how defense play you when you have 6’5 230lb WR that’s played for a decade and a half and has been commanding the same attention since 2015 at the latest.
Go find a mirror, and ask yourself that dumb sh** you directed at me
May 14th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
Yeah, Mike’s presence definitely made a major difference of how Any defense played us Brandon. But to make it fair, “As long As he was on the field”. That’s fair enough, right? Your both right if you look at it that way.. And it’s the truth of having Mike out there or not.
This feels a little like a “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” type of conversation overall on this subject. Who’s right? Everybody… depending on how you’re looking at it..
May 14th, 2026 at 2:44 pm
There are two for sure things Baker will experience without Mike 13.
First the obvious – If Mike was on the field he had to be accounted for. Especially on Red Zone plays.
Second – Baker and the OC will no longer feel pressure to make sure Mike gets his 1K season.
I assure you the DC’s of our upcomming opponents will remember the highlight reels of Godwin, EE, Bucky, Jmac and Tez. Now add in the new additions and the TE’s we hardly use. If our Oline is healthy, who are you gameplanning for?
Remember a healthy Baker is also a threat. Baker fan or not, he was a serious MVP canidate through the first 8 games last year and everyone has watched pick up more than just first downs on busted plays more often than not.
And for the opposing OC’s, this year we finally have more than 2-3 players on defense non Buccaneer fans will recognise their names. Bowels will have much better players to coach. You can hate Bowels all you want, but other than last year, Bowels has always stopped the run, been stingy in the RedZone and been on the + side of the turnover battle. More than average in the sack department as well.
The glass is half full folks…
May 14th, 2026 at 4:10 pm
BBBB, I have no interest in seeing a picture of you, im not that type. You can call us names all you want but I know one that describes you, not very intelligent. IF you have been lifting since a little boy and you don’t know what deadlit is…well you just can’t be that smart. As I said no one but you calls it deadlifts. I feel bad that you have been around something half your life and don’t know the common language used by those in that area. Maybe you’ve been spending time in the wrong gym… but it doesn’t surprise me with the way you can’t see BM6 talent. I thought you were just hating on Baker but after seeing how you dont know the common language of something you have been involved with for years i can see how you really do believe your hateful rhetoric. Maybe you spend too much time talking when you need to be listening. I bet that’s it, try listening a little bit more. Maybe that will help you pick up the little things like common language used by a set of very specific people-weight lifters.
On Bakers injurie(s), I guess you think Baker paid Lavonte David to tell the world that he had so many injuries he didn’t think he should have playing. Or is it that David didn’t really say that? Which is it? In a way it doesn’t matter. I mean you are the guy that has been around something for years and still don’t know the most basic aspect of that group, their language. How could I expect you to know something as complicated as talent, it’s impossible for you, so never mind.
May 14th, 2026 at 4:13 pm
The offense has plenty of talent! What’s most important is “how that talent” is used ! We’ll see come September.
The defense also has plenty of talent! Last season, the available talent was not used too effectively. We’ll see how that goes this season
Plenty of NEW talent has been added on both sides of the ball. How it is developed and used will be key to the quantity of Ws the team ends up with! We’ll find out what’s what come September!