Louis Riddick: Why Are The Bucs Fooling Around With Baker Mayfield?
July 30th, 2026
ESPN’s Louis Riddick.
Former NFL executive and long-time ESPN analyst Louis Riddick is one of the more respected guys breaking down football who works for the four-letter.
Given who he has worked with as both a former player and personnel man (Howie Roseman, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, to name a few), when Riddick talks, Joe listens.
And yesterday when he was on “Last Take,” the subject of the Bucs and Baker Mayfield’s negotiations on an extension breaking down had Riddick confused.
Riddick said not only does Mayfield have the heart of a lion, the man has some of the best stats in the league. So Riddick doesn’t understand why the Bucs are playing hardball.
“I do struggle with this one,” Riddick said. “I know some of the talk that has come out of [Tampa Bay] concerning Baker’s style of play, his throwing caution to the wind, putting his body in harm’s way. Could that be affecting his performance? Some think he could be even better if he would just learn to play the game a little bit less “quote unquote” reckless.
“Look, I don’t have a problem with [Mayfield’s style of play]. I mean, when you look at his stats objectively, again, over the past two years, 67 TDs — that’s second in the NFL. OK, his QBR is top-13, top 12 in the NFL.”
Then, Riddick said if the Bucs were really going to move on from Mayfield, that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht should have a helluva succession plan in place.
“And quite honestly, what is your next best alternative?” Riddick asked. “What would be your succession plan if you don’t have him on your roster going forward long term?”
The only thing Joe can think of is if the Bucs stink this year and Mayfield struggles, the team will try to tap the rich quarterback draft expected in April 2027.
Riddick went on to say Mayfield is is the type of quarterback a team should want and one that galvanizes teammates with his play.
“This guy’s a stud,” Riddick said. “He’s a warrior. He’s a competitor, and they’ve built a nice football team around him with a nice nucleus of wide receivers.”
Everything Joe has heard both on and off the record is the Bucs want Mayfield and Mayfield wants the Bucs. This is why Joe believes Mayfield will be the Bucs’ quarterback in 2027.
Still, the prudent move, “this Joe believes,” would be to see how Mayfield plays this year. If he has another down season, then you move on. If you hitch your wagon to a quarterback over 30 who gets beat up and who might be on the downside of his career, when he falls off the cliff, guess who else follows him? The coach and general manager.
@firsttake Will Baker Mayfield get his bag from the #Bucs? š¤ #nflonespn #nfl ā¬ original sound – First Take
July 30th, 2026 at 12:12 am
Riddick is a sharp guy, one of the best around.
So I don’t see any current NFL QBs available that are better than Mayfield, so the Bucs would need to have a terrible year to have a chance at a quality rookie. (I don’t see a terrible year unless Mayfield gets hurt.) What’s the success rate for a rookie QB to play well? Not good.
July 30th, 2026 at 12:17 am
Mayfield isnāt remotely on the downside of his career. Nobody could have consistently played behind that offensive line last year. I donāt know why this even keeps coming up.
The numbers speak for themselves!
Adding any element of risk at this point is a mistake- and itās a far greater risk not signing him when we have the chance possibly for less money than it is to wait and see how he plays and risk other teams getting involved in negotiations. If the offensive line is healthy we know how he will play. Like 2024. If it isnāt, like 2025. Thatās the reality of the situation.
July 30th, 2026 at 12:59 am
It seems like the Glazers want to see how the season develops before they give Licht a green light to do a big dollar deal with Mayfield. If the Bucs are putrid they may want to have the option of blowing the team up, launching Bowles and doing a full rebuild and the new head coach may not want Mayfield but for this to happen the Bucs will have to be really bad, like 4 or 5 wins total to get in the QB sweepstakes without having to trade up in the draft. A lot of posters think Bowles is capable of giving us fans a 4-13 season out the door. I suspect he is going to somehow get the Bucs to a mediocre 8 or 9 win mark where they will be the Steelers South, too good to ever draft a franchise QB and bad enough to just miss the playoffs and if they manage to get in at 9-8, lose in primetime…… It’s a Bucs’ life……
July 30th, 2026 at 1:00 am
Baker literally got the entire offensive staff fired because he sucked so bad last year, and these dopes talk like he’s a franchise QB. They should actually watch games, not just a few highlights – and by the way if you did watch just the highlights, you clearly stopped seeing any Baker highlights after the 49ers game, because he was terrible after that.
July 30th, 2026 at 1:13 am
Baker stunk once he got hurt and both guards were out. Just relentless pressure up the middle. Weāve talked about this enough times now. Itās still not registering and you still like to pretend Baker is the only player on the team. Since nobody could play well under those circumstances last season was a wash. I suppose you could say injuries got the offensive coaches fired and be far, far more correct. Offense is about consistency and we lost almost all of it.
July 30th, 2026 at 2:12 am
StPeteMatt and I don’t usually agree on much, but in THIS CASE, I’m with him on this one and all the rest that want to resign Baker.
Last year….. Baker simply didn’t have a snowballs chance, eventually. He still fought with everything he had. Ebuka and Evans did a fine job of dropping plenty of balls that came their way last season and that just didn’t help.
And OF COURSE, as ” Excited ” as Bowles was when they brought Tracy Chapman on board and threw out the only other guy who KNEW our offense inside and out that “could’ve” given Baker some actual relief. Well, Baker was irresponsibly FORCED to stay in the game. That SURE IS how it looked to me though I’ve got to give credit to Baker for going back in there Time and Time again and TAKE A BEATING for our entertainment. Tough Dude. But he’s human. He needed help that he simply didn’t get thanks to Todd Bowles and Jason Licht’s “best judgment” …
No… we DON’T HAVE a better option BY A MILE! Infact, we’re lucky to have him.
Hopefully he doesn’t want to leave the Clown Show to and decides to stay. H3ll, he maybe the only leader on the team left standing… And BTW,.. HE DOES HAVE OPTIONS AFTER ALL and if you think that no other team would be interested in him…. then YOU’RE retarded.
July 30th, 2026 at 3:54 am
Because, NONE of these guys actually follow the BUCS, or even have the FIRST clue. I sat there and listened to Colinās lil āsidekickā J-Mac, go on and on about Baker and what are the Bucs doing, and blah, blah, fricking BLAHā¦ That HEāS THE MAN, and whatever. THEN, to immediately say afterwards, that āwell, heās NOT worth Dak Prescott MONEY, nor am I saying that HEās even worth $50-MIL a season, & etc. BUT, heās got to be worth $45-MILā¦ Hell, Tampa Bay, PAY THE MAN.ā And, Iām just sitting here about to BLOW. Like, YOU FRICKING IDIOTā¦ THE ALREADY HAVE OFFERED BAKERā¦ IT WAS HE HIMSELF, WHO DECIDED TO DECLINE. I swear to GODDDDDD. They donāt have even THE FIRST CLUE. Cause, I will guarantee you that the BUCS wouldāve AT LEAST offered $45-MIL or DAMN CLOSE TO IT. But, it is āBAKERā who wants the very TIP-TOP of the market, AND HE WANTS/EXPECTS/DEMANDS āLONGTERM.ā But, 32-YEAR OLD Quarterbacks, do NOT get longterm (top-of-the-market) DEALS. And, the ONLY ONE who ever has before (with the team that did not draft him), was Russell Wilson. PERIOD. End of Story. Especially, an aging, ābeaten up and banged upā UNDERSIZED QB.
July 30th, 2026 at 4:06 am
The Bucs need to get out in front of this and truthfully set the record STRAIGHT to all of these EMPTY ātalking headā CLOWNS on tvā¦ Someone needs to LEAK what they really offered BAKER. Cause, these guys are just talkinā out THEIR ASSES. Theyāre playing-it SMART for once. They already know that THIS is NOT a āchampionshipā level team, and they are NOT wanting to ātie-upā $80-MILLION PER YEAR, of their future salary cap LONGTERM, invested into āTWOā AGING 32-YEAR OLD PLAYERS. I mean, itās all pretty damn simple. Cut & Dry. It is what it is.
July 30th, 2026 at 4:23 am
@ Obvious One – Weāll just wait and see AFTER this season what other āoptionsā Baker has at the kind of ānumbersā (years AND $), that HEās looking for and WANTS. If so, then HE will literally have to have the season of HIS LIFE. And, then just HOPE that he can find TWO TEAMS who feel-like, that they just have to HAVE HIM. Cause, itās going to be a REAL EASY ādecisionā for MOST. Hmmmā¦ Letās see, $60-MIL PER over 4+YEARS ($150-$200+MIL FULLY-GUARANTEED). Orrrr, DRAFT ONE, for about $10-$20MIL over the next 5-YEARS, GUARANTEED. Young. Fresh. Healthy. On the CHEAP. And, with an actual real UPSIDE, who can be developed. Versus 32 year old Quarterbacks donāt get healthier, OR better (and heās an OLD ā32ā who will NOT age well). It will take a really unique situation for Bakerā¦ That is AFTER he has āthe seasonā of HIS LIFE. Annnnddd, IF the BUCS decide to take a pass on the Franchise Tag (which wonāt happen IF he has that BIG career year). IF the Bucs passā¦ Then, that means that BAKER will be playing on a āmid-levelā 2-year deal (at best) as a āBridge,ā and that BIG season, never happened.
July 30th, 2026 at 4:36 am
StPeteMatt … ‘Baker stunk once he got hurt and both guards were out. Just relentless pressure up the middle.’
Baker’s problems last year were a lot more significant than just him being hurt & both guards being out. Bucs went 2-7 after our BYE week, and until the last game win against Carolina, we only won ONE game in that stretch … against lowly Arizona (3-14 last year). I was at that game, and I’ll say it … our offense was meh. And it was at full strength with 2 exceptions: no Mike Evans & no Cody Mauch (Dan Feeney was in at Guard; other than that, our OLine was intact). Our defense was at full strength too.
We won 20-17 but the Cardinals outplayed us offensively IMO. Our offense had only 10 drives, and punted on 5 of them. We scored on 4 drives (2 TDs, 2 FGs) and ended the game with 3 kneeldowns. Our problem: we couldn’t consistently sustain drives and we didn’t take advantage of the 2 takeaways our defense provided (punted on both).
We all know now that Baker was pretty beaten up by that point in the season (we played Arizona here at RayJay right after the Rams game). He played a meh-game against Arizona; Baker was 18-of-28 (64.3%) for 194 yards, but included in there he was 2-of-6 deep for 54 yards. He also ran 3 times for 31 yds, plus 3 kneeldowns for -4 yds. He was sacked twice, which killed 2 drives. Those numbers were consistent with his season’s averages, but he never really energized the team around him IMO. We won that game mostly because our defense held the Cards to 17 points, and made several very nice ‘stands’ in doing so.
I like Baker and I want to see us keep him (for 1 more contract), but folks need to stop pretending that he’s a top-tier franchise QB. He’s the quintessential character that Frank Sinatra’s song ‘I did it my way’ was written for. If he stays healthy, and with a decent team around him, he can get you to 9-8, 10-7 maybe even 11-6. Of course, when things go south with the team, he could just as easily get you to 8-9, 7-10 or 6-11.
July 30th, 2026 at 4:51 am
DR Says: āhe never really energized the team around him IMO.ā
That is šÆ CORRECT. Not just your opinion. I noticed it. He was distracted, unfocused, almost checked-out, AND aloof. The stats also back up that he had PLENTY of TIME. Your comments and observations are exactly spot on.
July 30th, 2026 at 5:07 am
Unless you want to BE Arizona, then get him signed. We donāt know what Baker is demanding so if itās not reasonable then itās understandable that the Bucs have not been able to get it done. There is no other option. I have said this for months. Itās Jasonās fault there is no backup plan.
July 30th, 2026 at 5:27 am
He is under contract for this season, AND the team has not one, but TWO Franchise Tags. For the LIFE OF ME, I cannot understand WHAT all these people on here, are continuing to MISS!? On top of all of that, BAKER HIMSELF (along with his agent), have been crystal CLEAR about their demands on TIP-TOP of the market $$$$$, and LONGTERM. Iām quite certain, that the BUCS have already offered HIM a more than FAIR DEAL. I mean, they didnāt offer HIM $35-MIL AGAIN, or some sh!t. GET REAL. And, WHY WOULD THEY offer HIM $55-MIL LONGTERM, when they already have THE TAG (and when NO ONE ELSE would ether). Again, BE FRICKEN REAL. If the offer was truly THAT RIDICULOUS (which it wasnāt šÆ), then you wouldāve already head SOMETHINGā¦ Cause, it wouldāve been leaked by Bakerās Agent. They know the offer is STRONG. And, FAIR. Bakerās OWN EGO, will not allow him to sign-it! And, that is pure stubbornness, and IGNORANCE. Heās saying that HE is totally cool with just playing on the Franchise Tagā¦ And, in order to āmaximizeā EVERY SINGLE LAST PENNY, that HE CAN GET. šÆ is exactly what he is doing. Just like Cousins did. Thatās a pretty BIG risk though, for a 32-YEAR OLD. Itās actually, REALLY STUPID.
July 30th, 2026 at 5:35 am
āOH, NO. What are we going to doā¦ What are we going to do!? PAY THE MAN HIS MONEYā¦ We gotta PAY HIM NOW. Oh, Noā¦ We Are SCREWED. This is a sinking ship.ā Lmao I mean, what the hellā¦ Do these people NOT understand that HE IS UNDER CONTRACT NOW!? Itās truly mind-blowing. Absolutely, Unbelievable.
July 30th, 2026 at 5:46 am
Foolishly fooling around with Baker
Baker is just as likely to head plant Captain Fear in the Bucs 50 yard line logo and blow this town as he is of resigning.
July 30th, 2026 at 6:00 am
Though those who will render their opinion with the same subjectively biased wording fail to see the trees for the forest, it is refreshing to read an article that is more objectively based! If those in control of the ship can not upright it and sail into the playoffs, several folks will walk the blank and the ship sails away with a new crew!
July 30th, 2026 at 6:02 am
One thing about Baker playing out his contract—he’s gonna think twice about slamming into a charging linebacker every time he takes off. I expect a lot more slides
July 30th, 2026 at 6:07 am
ābut folks need to stop pretending that heās a top tier franchise Quarterbackā. Defense Rules. Hopefully you got your dumbest comment out of the way early this morning.
July 30th, 2026 at 6:20 am
How important is it to pay Baker something like $50M in crazy money?
Compare him to a guy making under $5M per year and who is a free agent at the end of this season. SF’s Mac Jones is just an example and not necessarily the best option.
Mac Jones was second in voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year in the one year he played for Josh McDaniels. Then, Mike Patirica took over play calling, and Jones was soon run out of town.
Jones started 8 games for SF last year when Purdy was injured. Let’s compare $5M Jones in 2025 to wants to reportedly wants to be $50M Mayfield in 2024 and 2025.
(The numbers in parentheses are doubled to ballpark 17 games for Jones.)
———————–Jones 2025———Mayfield 2025 ——-Mayfield 2024——
Record 5-3 8-9 10-7
Comp. % 69.6% 63.2% 71.4%
Yards 2,151 (4,302) 3,693 4,500
TDs-INTs 13-6 (26-12) 26-11 41-16
Successful Downs 53.4% 42.5 53.9%
Yards/Attempt 7.4 6.8 7.9
Yards/Completion 10.7 10.8 11.1
Passer Rating 97.4 90.6 106.9
QB Rating 62.3 63.2 58.4
Sack Rate 5.25% 6.22% 6.56%
I would love to keep Baker IF we can extend Mauch for 4 more years and extend Vea for 4 more years with 2 years guaranteed. If there is not enough money to keep all three, I believe that Baker represents the least value for the money he is reportedly is asking for and that viable alternatives are out there.
July 30th, 2026 at 6:50 am
toopanca. Myles Garrett was the Browns first pick in 2017 and the Browns promptly went 0-16. Baker Mayfield was the Browns first round pick in 2018 and the Browns went 7-8-1. Mayfield didnāt play in the first 2 games ( losses) which made his record a winning record.
Comparing what a QB, like Jones is, and projecting it out over 17 games is a fools errand.
Then pretending weāre gonna get a QB for 5 million? Youāre cracking me up, man. You need to get ahold of yourself- and I aināt whistling Dixie.
July 30th, 2026 at 6:57 am
toopanca, donāt you think itās time for both parties involved in Bakerās contract negotiations to lay the cards on the table so the assumptions will give way to the truth? If one is asking to much or the other is extremely low, folks need to know!
July 30th, 2026 at 7:03 am
Mac Jones has played for 3 teams in 5 full seasons in the NFL. Heās thrown for 67 touchdowns.
Baker Mayfield has played for 4 teams in the NFL and 8 full seasons. Heās thrown for 197 touchdowns. That doesnāt include his even dozen playoff touchdown passes.
You a funny guy, toopanca.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:04 am
Poll Question for Joe Buc Fan:
Which is more important?
QB
Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
I look at rookies that come into the league. I cannot think of a rookie QB that has been successful with a Defensive Head Coach on an average to below average Team.
Look at Baker and Darnold, trash before getting good coaching. Look at the difference between year 1 and 2 for Caleb Williams & Drake Maye.
Knowing that, I want to make this team as attractive as possible to get the best Offensive Head Coach next year. To attract them, you need a blank canvass. That means not signing 30 years to long term contracts.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:05 am
To answer Riddick’s question: Sacks, fumbles and interceptions.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:34 am
Munch is correct , Baker did get the offensive staff fired last year!!! By the same logic he also got Canales and Coen head coaching gigs the two years prior. We shall see what he does this year , my guess would be Baker gets ZR some head coaching looks in 2027.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:35 am
The Bucs aren’t re-signing him.
The Glazers want to find the next McVay and give him a rookie QB to build the offense around. Most importantly, they want a starting QB on a rookie contract.
Bowles. Baker. Licht. Might as well leave now because there’s ZERO chance that any of them are back next season.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:35 am
Why are the Bucs fooling around? Ah, because they’re covering their arse in case he’s a 2-7 QB instead of a 6-2 QB. He’s under contract this season at a team friendly number. Why throw the bank at him now? He ain’t, or can’t go anywhere. He’s not complaining, or holding out, so why back the brinks truck up now? After this season we’ll know better what he’s really worth. Gladly give him a bigger deal if he earns it. He also could prove just to be a bridge QB, that you can franchise for another year. Bucs are playing it right with Baker, and Vea.
July 30th, 2026 at 7:55 am
Louis Riddick is one of the most articulate talking heads there is and he also has experience as a player and an executive in the game. I side with him 100%.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:00 am
as @DR mentioned, “folks need to stop pretending that heās a top tier franchise Quarterbackā
simple as that…
bucs are doing the right thing…make him prove it!!!..the injury excuse wont save him this year!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2026 at 8:04 am
Sign him and quit dicking around . It’s not a good look.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:08 am
Sometimes Defense Rules makes dumb comments 813 bucboi. But heās far from dumb.
You, on the other hand, ā¦
July 30th, 2026 at 8:16 am
“Whatās the success rate for a rookie QB to play well? Not good.”
Its 36%.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:18 am
“viable alternatives are out there.”
Yup. Alternatives like Gardner Minshew.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:24 am
Munch is an attention seeking moron. Hope Baker signs long term deal with Pittsburgh in 2027 and Munch gets Deshaun as his QB.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:29 am
Wondering how many folks were around in 2009 when the teardown started and the Bucs were left with Raheem Morris, Josh Freeman and the ‘yungry’ roster…
What prompted that – the Glazers tightening their purse strings to make sure their other football team was properly funded.
That’s where this is headed. A lot of NFL contracts have silly money. You can fiddle with signing bonuses, guarantees, etc., so that $50M a year isn’t really $50M a year. Something absolutely could have been worked out with Mayfield – compromises happen all the time in contract negotiations.
Instead, he was given a low-ball offer that wasn’t even worthy of a response.
Glazers are tearing this thing down. They want a cheap QB on a rookie deal. Anyone who says they want Baker back and he’ll be under center in 2027 is either ignoring the obvious and toeing the company line.
July 30th, 2026 at 8:41 am
jcscycles. I donāt know where you aquire your stats. I research mine fairly aggressively. 36 % that a rookie qb plays well?
How about the stat that a rookie qb who gets playing time is an NFL starter in year 9? Like Baker Mayfield is? That would be a 3% chance.
Alot to be said for dogged determination. Alot to be said for how difficult it is to play that position.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:03 am
KENTON
you’ve been wrong all offseason regarding baker lol…
continue on lol
GO BUCS!!!!
July 30th, 2026 at 9:03 am
last year it wasnt like everything was fine with the offense and just baker had issues. some real dolts post here.
oline
rushing
receivers
OC
then baker got hurt
no backup qb (thanks jason)
everywhere there was a ton of injuries and player swapping. except for the OC whose injury was to his ability, he had none.
so sure, idiots, keep going with your baker sucked mantra. the entire offense was a dumpster fire. they were lucky to win as many as they did. to not sign baker is idiotic.
baker is not on the “downside” of thirty, he will always be on the upside of gonna play right down your throat if you are on the other side. way better to have him then not.
who are the bucs going to get that is better and plays harder. nobody.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:17 am
There fooling around with him because they finally see heās not a franchise qb, and it only took them nine years to see it. Gee licht is so smart smh. Maybe the 12 year gm can do his job and find a franchise qb finally., after 12 years
July 30th, 2026 at 9:21 am
I think glazers/Licht wanted baker back on a 3 year deal and 45-50 million a year. They would draft a qb next year and baker starts 2027, starts in 2028 but if he does bad he is back up, traded in 2029. Baker likely wanted 4-5 year deal with 52-55 million a year. He is too inconsistent for that much and that long.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:46 am
Defense Rules, Joe Burrow played on a Bengals team in 2024 that had a great offense with great weapons. They had a very bad defense. They finished 9-8. Sound familiar? I believe he is great quarterback and is widely considered to be. He couldnāt do it by himself. No one can.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:48 am
Yep, he said it “Mayfield is a stud”. Just like we have been saying ALL ALONG!!! IF Baker leaves we will rue the day.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:55 am
813 says make him prove it. What a moron. How many times does he have to prove it? He could win 10 SB’S and you haters would find something to lie about him. When he is healthy and has a team around him he has proven he is easy top 10, EASY. Bakers problem is he is too tough. He should sit when injured. If he did that like the other qb, he would be top 5.
July 30th, 2026 at 9:59 am
As usual Melvin just has to add something that’s not factual, that Baker is demanding “tip top” pay. No one has ever said that is what Baker said. But as usual you have to say it to make him look as bad as you can. Typical HATER.
July 30th, 2026 at 10:29 am
The amazing thing is, whenever Baker is healthy with a not too beat up OL he has been in the MVP discussion. Last year he WAS everybody’s favorite for MVP until he was all beat up. But regardless, he is obviously one of the best. WHEN you are everybody’s favorite to win MVP, you are very good at what you do.
July 30th, 2026 at 12:28 pm
@ Well well well – Oh, yes they have SAID IT. His own AGENT said exactly that, just this past season. āThere Will Be NO DISCOUNTS.ā And, only Bakerās OWN HISTORY (and current actions) says exactly the SAME THING. So, I mean, whatā¦ YOU REALLY THINK they offered HIM $50-Bucks and a case of SCHLITZ!? Seriously. Only Russell Wilson (after 2 Super Bowls, shouldāve won them both), has gotten a LONGTERM DEAL, on the plus side of 30, with a team that didnāt originally DRAFT HIM. And, prob only DAK (4-years) and BRADY, when including Quarterbacks who were DRAFTED by their team. Itās GUARANTEED, that Baker is demanding at least 4-YEARS, & that is just not even being REASONABLE, at all.