Forecasting The Baker Mayfield-Bucs Contract Dance
June 9th, 2026
Decisions.
The Bucs have options if somehow the team and Baker Mayfield can’t come to terms on a new contract.
Mayfield put his foot down last week saying once training camp opens up, no contract talks until after the season. His contract expries after the 2026 season.
One option is the franchise tag that sits in the Bucs’ back pocket. Mayfield may not like it, but he’ll get paid alright, if he agrees to sign the tag.
If the Bucs don’t want to franchise Mayfield, the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, took an educated guess that the Bucs and Mayfield will come to some sort of deal before the 2026 season kicks off.
“Can they get it done for both sides? It’s a risk,” Florio said on his weekday morning show “PFT Live,” seen on NBC Sports Network. “Mayfield needs to have a solid year to have suitors elsewhere if he would become a free agent, and the Buccaneers need to have a solid Plan-B if Mayfield would leave.
“I believe the Buccaneers think that at the end of the day they are going to offer Mayfield more than anyone else will, and [Mayfield will] take the bird in the hand in lieu of assuming the risk of injury during the 2026 season.”
That last sentence is key for Joe. Mayfield is a walking injury waiting to happen in some respects. That’s because he’s a linebacker with a gifted arm playing QB.
No quarterback is more physical than Mayfield with the exception of Josh Allen, who is much bigger than Mayfield and can absorb the punishment better.
In two of the three years Mayfield has been in Tampa, he literally limped to the regular-season finish line. The Bucs shut out Carolina 9-0 in Week 18 in 2023 and Mayfield could not throw in that game because he was so beat up. To be fair, he was very good and strong in the playoffs.
Last year, Mayfield fell off the cliff after the bye with several injuries. He might have been the best quarterback in the league in the first eight games, then the Bucs lost seven nine and blew their playoff chances. Mayfield’s injuries were one of many reasons for the collapse.
If Mayfield gets hurt again — and it’s a coin flip he will or won’t — and struggles down the stertch, then next offseason he will be a 32-year old quarterback who regularly gets banged up and struggles in a season.
Trust Joe, there aren’t a lot of teams waiting to throw $175 million dollars for three years at an injury-prone quarterback on the wrong side of 30.
The other option for the Bucs? Well, the 2027 draft is expected to be rich with quarterbacks.
At the end of the day, with the Bucs wanting Mayfield and with Mayfield wanting to stay, Joe can’t envision any other quarterback starting for Tampa Bay to open the 2027 season.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:02 am
Thank goodness for Baker contract drama or there would be no Bucs stories
June 9th, 2026 at 9:05 am
This needs to get resolved before the season starts. This is all anybody will talk about during the season for better or worse. Get “Born Again” Baker signed to a 5-year deal and shore up that Putrid Pass Defense and this team is ready for 2026.
Go Bucs!
June 9th, 2026 at 9:09 am
With all due respect I couldn’t care less what Mr Tabloid Cheap Gossip Florio has to say about this topic.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:24 am
32 year old small, injury prone QBs don’t get better with age, Baker is Derek Carr waiting to happen, just good enough to get us to the playoffs not good enough to win it all, don’t saddle the franchise and next HC coach with an over paid average QB, Tua Kyler Kirk are examples of wasting resources on average QBs
June 9th, 2026 at 9:31 am
Agree.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:41 am
I’m fine moving on from Baker.
However – there better be a solid plan to replace/upgrade the QB position when he leaves.
I would love to know what our GM is thinking.
We could be looking at starting Jacoby Brissett in 2027…
LOL!!!
June 9th, 2026 at 9:44 am
Aside from DE the other position the Bucs find themselves poor at developing is the QB.
I’m not a fan of turning the team balance sheet upside down for Mayfield. And Mayfield SHOULDNT want that either. If he cares about the team and his legacy he SHOULD want the best players money can buy around him.
I dunno what finances these guys deal with. So, far be it for me to comment on what’s enough for your family especially after your Father seemingly stole from you and set your financial gains waaay back…but…at some point you gotta want to be a team player.on a team with exceptional talent.
Unless you don’t have faith you’re going to make it a few more yrs. Then I guess you grab everything you can and hope the door doesn’t hit you on the way out as you count.your money, and protect.your knees.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:47 am
Baker is Jeff Garcia with a better arm. The contract situation is already settled. There is no rush because hes under contract and he won’t hold out and miss his $40 million bonus. He’ll finish the season with no extension and move on in 2027. If there was a market for Baker other teams would be mentioned right now, not hypotheticals about teams next off-season. The Bucs being willing to pay more than other teams shows you how low his value is. It also shows the Bucs are the only ones that “want” him.
The Bucs will weather this media storm and nothing new will happen with the contract. Baker maxed out his abilities in 2023 with the Bucs.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:07 am
@ Bee
“Baker is Jeff Garcia with a better arm.”
I believe Baker is Jeff Garcia with a worse arm… Especially late in the 4th qtr…
lol.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:09 am
@MB
??? You might be right.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:11 am
If Baker Mayfield is here to stay until the end of his career and he wants a Super Bowl more than money.. He simply has to force the Glazers hand (They fear the Beard!) and keep Todd Bowles as Head Coach, but take the DC job away from him! Baker Mayfield would be my Hero if he did that!
June 9th, 2026 at 10:11 am
I don’t get the ridiculous injury talk. It doesn’t matter if he signs or doesn’t sign if he gets hurt it would be bad. But the notion he’s injury prone is absurd . He has a will to win and his fight is what gets other teammates and fans fired up. If everybody does their job including the defense, Mayfield does not have to carry the whole team where these injuries take place. But a qb that fights through injuries and hasn’t missed a game in 3 years is not injury prone. That’s just a dumb statement.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:21 am
It’s not a coin flip on whether he gets injured. It’s a coin flip on how serious it is and if he misses time.
He is one tough SOB but he will get hurt again unless he learns to not play every down like it’s 4th down in the 4th quarter of the SB. Hes just not wired like that.
And this is one reason why (as stated by Joe) you have to build protections into the contract and not be irresponsible.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:21 am
I’ve been saying Jeff Garcia for two years now. He’s a good QB. Not great. If he’s in the top tier, that says more about the state of the NFL than any particular greatness from Baker. Darnold didn’t get a new contract in Seattle and he won the Super Bowl. That tells you any new deal for Baker is overpaying him.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:45 am
1) Jeff Garcia was a lot better than many of our QB’s IMHO.
2) Baker’s arm is def stronger.
June 9th, 2026 at 10:50 am
Why not have both? Mayfield and a 2027 1st round QB draft pick…
June 9th, 2026 at 10:52 am
Run Baker Run ?
June 9th, 2026 at 10:52 am
Baker this – Baker that – Baker fell of a cliff – Baker shouldn’t have played injured – blah blah blah.
Who was the HC ?
Who was the OC ?
Where was the OL protection ?
Why did the defense quit ?
Why did ME13 leave ?
Why did Baker perform so well under Canales and Coen ?
Why is it all Baker’s fault now ?
Is he responsible for ALL the teams ailments ?
Has everyone forgotten all the good things said about Baker ?
Did Baker not save this team after TB12 ?
What has Baker done wrong to deserve all the unwarranted hate ?
What might have things been like if Coen replaced TB ?
What if unanticipated things happen ?
Things could spiral out of control and go south very quickly.
The owners are grasping for stability but stability can be as slippery as a bar of soap.
June 9th, 2026 at 11:01 am
it all depends on how this season unfolds….it aint how you start but how you finish…Baker hasnt finished well the past 2 seasons…
unlike joe, i could very much see the bucs in 2027 without Baker….time will tell
GO BUCS!!!!
June 9th, 2026 at 11:06 am
The biggest injury Baker suffered was Jason retaining Tood and losing Mike. Then, having to play under the huge wave of regression Twocoach promotes — the best thing for Baker is to get away from Todd asap.
Give him a ham sandwich and thank him for his service. Bucs can lose 14 games with or without Baker.
June 9th, 2026 at 11:13 am
Also, who’s to say that the bucs still don’t draft one of the QBs available next year?
If Baker is starting and gets a new contract, the rookie doesn’t have to start right away and this worked out well for Green Bay and Kansas City. Have a young quarterback learn under a veteran. Great insurance policy if the veteran gets hurt. Does anyone really think Browning is the guy? Jalon Daniels didn’t get drafted for a reason. I guess it depends on which quarterbacks lands where in next year’s draft.
I hope if this happens that it’s more of a Baltimore scenario, where you pick up your QB in the lower part of the first round and he ends up developing well. Also means you had a good season. Kansas City was a pretty good team when they traded up to get Mahomes at the 10th pick. I’d be okay if that was our scenario as well, though I’m expecting we’re still going to need a lot of our draft picks again making a trade up hard to do for a GM like Licht who loves his picks.
June 9th, 2026 at 11:20 am
“If there was a market for Baker other teams would be mentioned right now”
++++++++++++++++++++++
They already are. Pittsburg, Minnesota, and the Jets are most frequently mentioned.
And remember Doug Williams…..
June 9th, 2026 at 11:27 am
Sign Baker long term. Do it now!
June 9th, 2026 at 11:32 am
jcscycles Says:
June 9th, 2026 at 11:20 am
“If there was a market for Baker other teams would be mentioned right now”
++++++++++++++++++++++
They already are. Pittsburg, Minnesota, and the Jets are most frequently mentioned.
LOL…those teams can have baker and all his injuries and excuses lol…folks are acting like baker is the 2nd coming of brady lol….
1 playoff win in 2023
led the NFL in INTs and Fumbles in 2024
missed the playoffs in 2025
not impressive at all…
GO BUCS!!!
June 9th, 2026 at 12:01 pm
I’m so sick of the Baker haters on this site. My gut reaction is to tell Baker not to sign a contract this season, put up some great numbers, AND THEN RUN AWAY! Pittsburg would be a great fit. But there’s no way that Tampa will not sign him to a long term deal. That should more than pizz off his haters (morons) over and over again. And I’m really good with that.
June 9th, 2026 at 12:17 pm
There is no backup plan without Baker. If we don’t resign him, we will not win 5 games for the next 4-6 years.
Say what you want, but the numbers don’t lie. Baker is a top 10 QB all day everyday.
June 9th, 2026 at 12:27 pm
Regardless of his contract, if Baker has a good 2026, then he won’t be anywhere since the Bucs hold all the cards.
If Baker doesn’t have a good 2026, then Bowles is getting fired, and you’d have back to back seasons where Baker in one year got his entire offensive staff fired, then the next year got all the coaches fired. Guess what, a new coach isn’t going to want that guy around.
Baker is under contract, lets see how 2026 goes before considering any sort of extension. Not sure why anyone who is a Bucs fan would have a problem with that. But I can absolutely see how the Baker Boi(s), who are not Bucs fans, think this is the most important thing in the world that must get done right this second. They don’t care about winning, they don’t care about the future, they just care about Baker because they thought he was funny in those commercials were he lived a stadium.
June 9th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
If Mayfield were to get the non-exclusive tag next off-season. Do you believe another team would give the Bucs 2 first round picks to sign Baker???
June 9th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
When a nfl quarterback wants 60 mil a year and hasn’t been close to a Superbowl it’s time to say bye. There are a lot of overpaid quarterbacks in the nfl we don’t need one. Once you get the the big dance now that’s a different story
June 9th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
“Do you believe another team would give the Bucs 2 first round picks to sign Baker???”
Laughing stock
June 9th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
“Do you believe another team would give the Bucs 2 first round picks to sign Baker???”
Laughing stock
June 9th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Chief … ‘There is no backup plan without Baker. If we don’t resign him, we will not win 5 games for the next 4-6 years.’
How could you possibly know that Chief? Did you say exactly the same when the 2019 season ended & we started out negotiating with Jameis (as I remember he wanted $21 mil a year to stay with us), but THEN Tom Brady entered the picture? MAYBE that exact same scenario will happen after the 2026 season ends if the Bucs decide to move on.
Fans (and often media?) are never privy to what goes on behind close doors in the NFL. If we were, there’d be no reason for doors. Nah, the most fruitful negotiations aren’t conducted in public.
Besides, the Bucs are building a very solid TEAM in my opinion. If Baker performs as I expect he can, there’s no reason our offense won’t end up ranked in the Top-10. And if some our new beasts on defense show their fangs, no reason our defense won’t end up ranked in the Top-10. Bucs have yet to do have BOTH ranked in the Top-10 under Bowles, but we hit that mark TWICE under BA … with Brady leading the offense, and Bowles as our DC. Now let’s see if Baker can accomplish that once again.
June 9th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Guzzie55 Says:
June 9th, 2026 at 9:24 am
32 year old small, injury prone QBs don’t get better with age, Baker is Derek Carr waiting to happen, just good enough to get us to the playoffs not good enough to win it all, don’t saddle the franchise and next HC coach with an over paid average QB, Tua Kyler Kirk are examples of wasting resources on average QBs
—————
He just turned 31, not 32. Ever heard of Drew Brees, Jeff Garcia, Doug Flutie, Joe Theismann, Fran Tarkenton? All significantly smaller than Mayfield both in height and build and all had their best seasons AFTER the age of 32. You were saying? BTW, Derek Carr wasn’t small. Do you even watch football or just make stupid comments?
June 9th, 2026 at 1:39 pm
“Ever heard of Drew Brees, Jeff Garcia, Doug Flutie, Joe Theismann, Fran Tarkenton?”
Just listing names doesn’t mean he equates to them.
I also remember Johnny Manziel, Ty Detmer, Troy Smith, Dennard Robinson and others.
See?
June 9th, 2026 at 2:23 pm
Baker is inconsistent. You dont sign inconsistent QBs early. You make them prove their worth but this is the Retodd here. He makes stupid decisions and I have no doubt he will force Licht to overpay for Baker way before he needs to.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:07 pm
Once again, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson don’t do all that great in the playoffs and have not won a Super Bowl. Does that mean we should predict that they are not good enough to ever win one or is their TEAM deficient in some way and holding them back? It’s ridiculous to look at wins for quarterbacks and think they have a lot to do with performance. That’s especially true for players like Baker and Joe Burrow that play on teams known to not have a very good defenses lately!
Wins do not define the talent of a quarterback. How they perform driving the offense does. By all stats and indicators, Baker is a top 5-8 quarterback (some stats even higher!). Letting him leave would be a tragic mistake and would absolutely put this team way back and in a tailspin. Im not a Baker boi. Im à BUCS FAN! Im looking at this very clearly and people are manipulating statistics to serve their own viewpoints which are ludicrous and in many cases probably self-serving.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:16 pm
All quarterbacks get injured and miss games. Some people here prefer Bo Nix to Baker, but he was out injured in the playoffs. Baker’s injuries are just a little more spectacular than getting squashed in the pocket.
The argument that the Bucs are the only team interested in him doesn’t make sense. If no one else were interested, they wouldn’t be either.
I do hope, and believe, that the discussions between the management team and Baker’s team are not as adversarial as the comments here, and certainly not so personal. Professionalism and mutual respect, again which I believe exist, will keep the dealings on a rational basis, reconciling the differences in point of view within the context of the big picture.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:21 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch..he was talking about their age compared to Baker’s age.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Im a little bit disturbed by how many fans are ready to let Baker walk. There is currently no plan for his replacement. Good teams keep thier QB and build a team. This constant upheaval on offense has to effect play. How many offensive coordinator’s has this team had? Either they suck and get fired or they’re successful and get a better job. This team had Jameis the coach destroyer. Now we have Baker the headcoach maker. Yet people want to toss him overboard. Either blow it all up and start over with a new GM/HC or build with what we have.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
Baker isn’t all that inconsistent. Our lack of an offensive line last year would make anyone inconsistent. Our team is inconsistent and plays down to the level of our opponents. Our middle linebackers were way too slow and took bad angles and missed a lot of tackles. We had 0 pass rush on most downs last season. Those things made us inconsistent.
All those things *could be* a lot better this year. If we punt our quarterback, we are toast and will be spinning our wheels for many years when instead we could be contending for a championship if we could stay healthy. In the argument our qb is dispensable, DR and I totally disagree. Finding another quarterback is extraordinarily difficult otherwise the Jets, Pitt, Atlanta and Arizona would all have established starters by now.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:40 pm
JeffreyLane77 Says:
June 9th, 2026 at 3:23 pm
Im a little bit disturbed by how many fans are ready to let Baker walk. There is currently no plan for his replacement.
———–
More fake news from the Baker Boi(s).
What is being said is that Baker is under contract, coming off a bad year – why in the world would you lock him up now instead of playing out the year and seeing what he does.
If Baker performs well, he’s not going anywhere.
Instead, the Baker Boi(s) are saying we must not wait to see if Baker bounces back, we must act now because… ugh… I’m not even sure anyone is making a case on why the Bucs must act now.
Unless Baker is willing to take a very team friendly contract that would allow them to get out of the deal early – there’s just no reason for the Bucs to rush and do anything. And from Baker’s side, if he’s confident that the last 10 weeks of last year was due to injury or whatever, then he shouldn’t do any cheap deal, and if he goes out and performs he’s going to make more than the $50M number being thrown around.
But the entire point, again, is that Baker is under contract, and the Bucs can always franchise him. If he has a big year, then he’s not going anyways. But last years play, with him costing the team the playoffs, getting the entire offensive staff fired, and causing Mike Evans to flee the state to play with “a good quarterback” – that should not be rewarded.
June 9th, 2026 at 3:47 pm
Carr played on some really bad teams also
June 9th, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Jeff your fine! Its all the other so called “fans” There’s a few that are simply delusional!
June 9th, 2026 at 4:09 pm
Floormatt is trying to tell us that Baker is as good as Lamar or Josh. ROTFLMAO.
June 9th, 2026 at 4:28 pm
@3.28.Evans
The Floormat also thinks Bowles is a GREAT HC\DC.
He’s as good or better than Andy Reid!!!!
Some people shouldn’t mix alcohol and pharmaceuticals for breakfast.
He’s Prime Minister of the Pom Pom squad!!!
June 9th, 2026 at 5:19 pm
Bee Says:
June 9th, 2026 at 9:47 am
“Baker is Jeff Garcia with a better arm. The contract situation is already settled. There is no rush because hes under contract and he won’t hold out and miss his $40 million bonus. He’ll finish the season with no extension and move on in 2027. If there was a market for Baker other teams would be mentioned right now, not hypotheticals about teams next off-season. The Bucs being willing to pay more than other teams shows you how low his value is. It also shows the Bucs are the only ones that “want” him.
The Bucs will weather this media storm and nothing new will happen with the contract. Baker maxed out his abilities in 2023 with the Bucs.”
Get ready for Teddy as your starting QB if Baker leaves. No one else that’s any good will come here with TB as coach
June 9th, 2026 at 5:37 pm
LOL…those teams can have baker and all his injuries and excuses lol…folks are acting like baker is the 2nd coming of brady lol….
1 playoff win in 2023
led the NFL in INTs and Fumbles in 2024
missed the playoffs in 2025
±+++++++++++++++
4,000 yards passing 2 years in a row is pretty good.
And blaming Baker for missing the playoffs last year is ridiculous. That wasnt all him.
Blame Bowles and Grizz for what happened and you will be closer to the truth.
Stop daytime drinking unless you are fishing…
June 9th, 2026 at 5:37 pm
O line injuries, poor coaching, and terrible defense = Baker trying to do too much = getting hurt and being less effective. With a healthy line and better defense Baker is top 10. So I say to Jason and ownership – Get a deal done, before training camp! If you don’t he’s gonna wanna bolt just like Mike. If you don’t, it shows me Bucs are in lose now mode. Please pay the man!!!
June 9th, 2026 at 5:49 pm
That why we need a better backup…and we do not currently have anyone better than Teddy was.
June 9th, 2026 at 5:51 pm
Guzzie55 Says:
“32 year old small, injury prone QBs don’t get better with age…”
Except Baker HAS gotten better with age.
June 9th, 2026 at 5:54 pm
Bee Says:
“If there was a market for Baker other teams would be mentioned right now…”
Teams cannot mention it because it would be tampering.
And 4 teams were already mentioned to be in play for him next year.
June 9th, 2026 at 5:58 pm
Stu Says:
“Why not have both? Mayfield and a 2027 1st round QB draft pick…”
I was thinking the same thing. The Packers did it with Favre and Rodgers. That would solve the health issues, and if Baker goes down and the drafted QB plays better, Baker is trade bait.
Isn’t that how Tom Brady got a starting role with the Pats? Bledsoe went down? If he hadn’t gotten injured, the Pats may have never known what they had.
June 9th, 2026 at 6:02 pm
My opinion, as I have stated multiple times, is that I want Mayfield to stay, but with a better backup plan.
I firmly believe Baker wants and needs to get a deal done before the season starts…because if the defense bombs, Todd Bowles will be sent packing, and Baker wants to still have a job in Tampa. The next coach might otherwise want his or her own guy in there. (I added the ‘or her’ just to bug people)
Also, as I’ve stated, I believe the hangup is the number of years, not the annual money.
June 9th, 2026 at 6:05 pm
Injuries. Injuries. Injuries. Coaching. Horrible backup.
That’s why Baker did badly last year. He had three injuries throughout the second half of the year himself. Both shoulders and cracked ribs. All because of the injuries to the OL.
He could have been pulled for a few games…but…Teddy Bridgewater. (I bet Jason Licht never throws Bowles a bone again)
June 9th, 2026 at 7:29 pm
He might have about 2-3 years left. Unless our oline stays beastly and healthy. If not it will be the walking wounded. Go Bucs!
June 9th, 2026 at 7:30 pm
I said Bowles is a very good HC and was better than any coach that was available last year. I also said I’d trade him for McVay.
Baker is one of the best QB’s in the NFL. I didn’t say he was number 1 but it’s easy to make a case for 5-8. So it’s ludicrous to get rid of him. He’s more Stafford-like than Allen or Lamar-like. I’d put those 3 ahead of him, at least.
The team fell apart around Baker last year. It was a horrible situation for him and should not be costing him money.
We should sign him long term on his talent level. Talent level and 1b stats are what you should use to gauge how good your QB is. And Baker is excellent!
June 9th, 2026 at 7:30 pm
1b=QB
June 9th, 2026 at 8:08 pm
“Baker is one of the best QB’s in the NFL. I didn’t say he was number 1 but it’s easy to make a case for 5-8“
On the official website of the NFL which bases their rankings on performance and not just lazy attempts at persuasive writing, he’s ranked 17th which is all the way down in tier 3. Which makes him closer to 32 than it does to number 1, after 8 seasons in the NFL
June 9th, 2026 at 8:50 pm
Pffft. What did they use to rank them- feelings?
Market size?
Passing touchdowns and passing yards are the best way to rank QB’s. Look who’s top 3 since he was a Buc? I think Simms had him ranked 8th or 9th last year. That’s about as low as he should be. You can argue anywhere from like 5-12 but anything lower the stats are undeniable which means you aren’t being unbiased.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:15 pm
Both Baker and Bowles are victims of playing for/coaching bad football teams. Put Baker on last year’s Seattle squad and I wonder what would have happened? Probably a perfect season. Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league that constantly plays for a bad team. To really get a fair picture on how good a qb is, you have to take team stats like wins mostly out of the picture. Otherwise you think Darnold is better than Burrow, which is the logical equivalent of the disingenuous arguments constantly being made here.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:18 pm
Click the link and go have your feeling hurt Pete.
Production and performance, unlike you just talking whimsically like a vacuum or insurance salesmen.
5-8th best where? The UFL? CFL?
“Passing touchdowns and passing yards are the best way to rank QB’s. Look who’s top 3 since he was a Buc?“
Again, click the link so you can have your feeling hurt. Not just yards and TDs, there are data points for efficiency like completion %, QB rating, and the entire football world has documented his involvement in our skid(mark) down the stretch. What “elite” QB gets the ball taken out of his hands with the slimmest playoff hopes alive, because we were averaging as much per run as we were per pass to our last game or two of the season.
Purdy didn’t even play a full season, and was ranked just above Mayfield. Also, they added the QBs previous rankings on the same NFL site since 2020, Mayfields’ rankings look just like how he plays, a little up and a lot of down.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:18 pm
Personal attacks don’t make your hapless arguments any more valid, Evans and Lynch. Neither of you show any actual signs of being fans of the team or genuinely wanting what’s best for it either. I think I saw Lynch wishing we would go 3-14 this year.
He’s not a Buccaneers fan at all.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:21 pm
We didn’t have an offensive line for the entire second half of the season. The entire offense was stuck in neutral. Mayfield’s great but he’s not a magician. Tom Brady would not have been better at the end of last year. The last time the O-line was healthy this offense was fantastic. I expect the same this year if the line is healthy.
We shall see who is correct.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:22 pm
Smart move is to give Baker a fair deal ( market value ) and try to find a quarterback you like in the first round of the draft if there is one. Come on JL, make it happen. Make this team great again. No Kyle Trask 2nd round nonsense this time. Gotta be 1st round talent to groom behind Baker and be a quality back up for now. Even if you have to make a bold move up in the 1st Rd.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:23 pm
“Joe Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league that constantly plays for a bad team. To really get a fair picture on how good a qb is, you have to take team stats like wins mostly out of the picture.“
Burrow led his team to an SB in a season he got sacked 55 times and had a slapped together OL
He’s clearly better and more capable than Mayfield.
Can’t remember who it was, might’ve been Chase Daniel who called Sam Darnold a bigger, stronger, less volatile Baker Mayfield.
Nobody on planet earth who knows as little as possible about football would pick Baker over Burrow. Pure madness
June 9th, 2026 at 9:25 pm
And figure out how to add quality depth to the O line.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:26 pm
“We didn’t have an offensive line for the entire second half of the season. The entire offense was stuck in neutral. Mayfield’s great but he’s not a magician.“
Attached is a cut up of every single interception Mayfield threw last year.
Do yourselves a favor, watch this cut up and count how many under duress forced throws you see
Compared to our QB standing flat footed in a clean pocket with his shaky mechanics and watch these passes into the arms of awaiting defenders.
June 9th, 2026 at 9:36 pm
“The last time the O-line was healthy this offense was fantastic. I expect the same this year if the line is healthy.“
Didn’t Goedeke miss 4 games with a concussion in 2024?
I think you’re confusing Coen being the 1 OC we’ve had to Mayfield proof his offense in a way that Mayfields’ deficiencies weren’t magnified like they were in 2025 with the health of the OL dictating how well Baker played. Everything Grizz didn’t do, that Coen did clearly shows how Coen went to protect his scheme from the bad Baker Mayfield.
Perfect example of that was the first Saints game in ‘24, mans threw like 3 picks in 4-5 drives apart from one another. So, we got back to running the ball with Tucker and shooting passes from the 2nd level down. It’s why those pass charts Joe shared late last season were so pathetic
June 10th, 2026 at 1:18 am
I wouldn’t come to terms with Bad Bakey as last we ALL saw, as the guy throwing interceptions and Actually playing the Most Significant part of losing a few too many games. Unfortunately there’s some truth to that in 2025.. BUT ONLY in one half of any season he’s been with us. The rest were WINNERS. He deserves a little leverage. He HAS Earned it. (If your judging his “BODY OF WORK” since arriving in Tampa.)
Great Baker is the wolf HE BETTER feed the MOST if he wants a significant raise… PERIOD! Besides… he THRIVES WITH THE STRUGGLE.. RIGHT! So it shouldn’t be a problem. I myself BELIEVE HE WILL come back strong and I’d like to see him with a Fresh Contract. HE ONLY NEEDS TO “PROVE” HE DESERVES IT!
He won me over for A REASON! I’m NOT turning my back and taking away my love unless he GIVES ME REASON BEYOND THIS POINT. “WITH” A FAIR SHOT, “WITH” A FUNCTIONING O LINE TO WORK BEHIND… A FAIR SHOT AND A FUNCTIONING O LINE, I believe he’ll turn some frowns upside down. (And if Bozo Bowles doesnt sabotage the entire team with the GREENEST OC he could possibly find so that another OC didn’t challenge for his job!!!!!!! We likely win one or two more games last year)
You Only need to remind us ALL buddy. Remind us WHY you WON So Many of us over and LEARN from your 2025 Mistakes. Learn to use your head when your body can’t take that type of a beating, game after game after game… Deep shots be d@@@med if it doesn’t make sense anymore. Ok.. Just WIN!
June 10th, 2026 at 4:47 pm
Has any team contacted the Bucs about trading for Baker?