Hidden Evidence That Baker Mayfield Took A Beating
January 24th, 2026
Breaking tackles may have broken Baker Mayfield.
Boy it was sure fun to watch Baker Mayfield run the ball.
But that fun took its toll. It was anything but fun watching Mayfield try to throw the ball after the bye. He went from an MVP frontrunner to Jameis II almost overnight.
One of the reasons Mayfield was a viable MVP candidate early on is that he ran the Bucs out of trouble, picking up plenty of first downs using his feet. But as former Bucs Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians likes to say, “Put yourself in harm’s way, harm will find you.”
Like we didn’t already know, Mayfield was damn effective when he got out of the pocket, often to scramble. It seems he broke quite a few tackles. But when you break tackles, that means you get hit. A lot.
A guy who traffics in fake (“fantasy”) football,
Ian Hartitz, posted some numbers from the PFF tribe about broken tackles.
Seems for quarterbacks, Mayfield was tied with Caleb Williams for most “avoided” tackles (38). If you avoid a tackle, that often means you broke a tackle meaning you are going to get drilled after breaking a tackle. Maybe get drilled more than once after breaking a tackle.
That tends to add up.
Now no one with the Bucs specifically spilled the beans (yet) why Mayfield’s season in 2025 did a 180 right before the bye. Mayfield was like two different quarterbacks.
Joe is going to assume Mayfield played lousy because he was so beat up. Which leads Joe to two questions:
1. If Mayfield was that beat up, why the hell was he on the field? At some point, someone has to be the adult in the room and tell Mayfield, “Dude, we love your drive but if you can’t throw you are hurting both the team and yourself with a future contract. Take a week off and rest up.”
2. The second question is, did the Bucs keep Mayfield on the field because they were scared of their backup quarterback? Did they not trust Teddy Bridgewater? And if that’s the case, then why the hell was Bridgewater eating up a roster spot?
January 24th, 2026 at 11:04 am
Would love to see an unvarnished assessment by a Bucs insider as to Trask’s limitations compared to the reality of Teddy
January 24th, 2026 at 11:06 am
Would actually like to see an unredacted medical report on him. Not some krap put out by the Bucs, but an actual medical report. We’d then, I think, know the truth.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:08 am
I got the impression his injury(s) weren’t the sort of thing they sitting a week or 2 would fix
January 24th, 2026 at 11:10 am
Baker is an Aries.
He would never sit.
He’s the ultimate Warrior.
I wouldn’t trade him for anybody!
Go Bucs!
January 24th, 2026 at 11:14 am
John Sinclear
I’d like to see an unredacted medical report on you. See how that works?
Got a better chance of seeing an unredacted Ep File.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:18 am
Results are all that matter, warrior or no. Baker kind of reminds me of Jeff Garcia. Where did that get us?
January 24th, 2026 at 11:26 am
Beej wrote: “Would love to see an unvarnished assessment by a Bucs insider as to Trask’s limitations compared to the reality of Teddy.”
Maybe you can get that from Atlanta (or even our new O.C.). I’m sure they also did a major assessment of his talents, which is why even Easton Stick beat him out as Cousins’ backup (who was Penix’s backup), leaving Trask on the practice squad.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:29 am
lol why we still talking about Trask
January 24th, 2026 at 11:34 am
Baker was beat up and hurt. His center and back up guards were getting beat a lot. His receivers were not getting separation and the OC could not adjust. Overall the offense fell off the cliff after the bye and the defense was so bad it couldn’t stop anyone. Hope Baker gets some protection next season and The Bucs do something about the defense.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:35 am
You tell ’em Teacherman because they don’t get it. They will never get it because none of them played sports-Bee, Munch, DBBF99, Melvin, the lot of them.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:35 am
Bucs depended far too much on Mayfield to win…cost them dearly late in the season….defense & ST failures contributed
January 24th, 2026 at 11:39 am
They had a combination of issues-
Backup inadequate guards
OC that wasn’t ready
Injuries to receivers
Mayfield bailed from pocket with happy feet too often and inaccurate throws
January 24th, 2026 at 11:45 am
Or maybe, Baker just isn’t very good.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:55 am
For the millionth time losing both starting guards and putting the JV team in there ruined this team, not any Baker injury.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:59 am
No they did not trust Teddy Bridgewater.
Been saying htat all along.
January 24th, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Stpetematt Says:
“For the millionth time losing both starting guards and putting the JV team in there ruined this team, not any Baker injury.”
Okay. And why did he get injured? Hmmn?
January 24th, 2026 at 12:10 pm
The dumbest thing we could do is bring in teddy baker doesn’t know how to slide to save himself and the team a loss all the knowledge teddy supposedly brings didn’t show up we still lost games I believe we could have won with a decent back up we get rid of trask for a guy that put one of our younger receivers out for almost the entire season get someone either in draft or a decent backup that will come in a play meaningful downs so baker can rest up a week or 2 I would like to see Malik Willis on our team I think that would be a very reliable back up not Pratt or ballsack go get someone that will be a help not a hindrance to the offense I don’t want no guy that here people talking good about him then he starts doing worse than Justin fields ,Anthony Richardson ,will Levis ect. At this point is Mac jones available because baker doesn’t seem to understand I’m a qb and I should try to stay healthy for my team I need to know my check downs get down or get out of bounds or throw it away so I can stay healthy for my team because it’s starting to sound repetitive he is hurt mid season now the team can’t go on sounds kinda familiar right the last 2 years with us and maybe what the saw in Cleveland maybe why the knew 2 kinda keep it moving not say I hate baker because I don’t I just wish he played a lil smarter if he knows we can’t move forward without his madness
January 24th, 2026 at 12:16 pm
Jmarkbuc says
“I’d like to see an unredacted medical report on you. See how that works?”
Pay me 20 Million Bucks a year and I’ll have them delivered to your door! See how that works?
January 24th, 2026 at 12:17 pm
Door 2. Teddy is a great nfl commercial product seller. Not able to play. Its a business.
You dont need a stat to see that shoulder injury he had, I think it was the rams.
Backup qb is needed. Tua?
January 24th, 2026 at 12:40 pm
The truth about Baker’s injuries will never be known! If truth be known, it could have ramifications from the league costly to all involved. As for Baker, controlled chaos is good but uncomfortable chaos is bad.
January 24th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
Jameis 1 still threw touchdowns
January 24th, 2026 at 1:01 pm
Attaboy Says:
January 24th, 2026 at 11:35 am
You tell ’em Teacherman because they don’t get it. They will never get it because none of them played sports-Bee, Munch, DBBF99, Melvin, the lot of them.
==================================
Hard to know much about football when all those duds were in their high school marching bands.
January 24th, 2026 at 1:11 pm
It was Bowles job to bench him at the right time. After the bye stupidity syndrome hit One Buc Place. SMH
January 24th, 2026 at 1:11 pm
Darnold and Stafford played thru injuries most of the season. No ones making excuses for them. Why? Because you don’t need to. Most QB’s are banged up. The good ones keep on performing like Brad Jognson did during the Bucs Super Bowl season plating with broken ribs.
January 24th, 2026 at 1:27 pm
Let me translate for Joe if I may…..
F off Rod Munch!!!!!!!!!!
January 24th, 2026 at 1:30 pm
Who’s Brag Jognson? If he played with busted ribs, I bet his supporting cast was healthier than ours. Bucs have to get a backup QB. Feisty Bake knew the scoop on the Trask-Teddy deal. Grizzard was just too green. There was just too much OC musical chairs added on to the injury plague. Hope the new hires work out. Go Bucs in the fall!
January 24th, 2026 at 1:34 pm
The reality is the o-line was in shambles, the top recievers were all injured, the starting RB was injured, and the offensive coordinator was in diapers….and the QB was injured trying to carry the team.
Baker obviously has faults, like every QB, but he’s pretty far from the issue with this team.
January 24th, 2026 at 1:56 pm
Spot on Joe. Very stupid decision on the part on Todd Bowles to play him. Jason Licht needed to intervene and keep Mayfield off the field to heal.
Clearer heads need to prevail. Glazers need to put there foot down and say no to reckless play.
Get a decent backup Quarterback whether in free agency or the draft.
January 24th, 2026 at 2:10 pm
“teacherman'”, I am a Sagittarius, so I understand what you meant. I also saw that when he was discovered that spiritual side, when he first felt it, he was more effective. But we all know how that initial jolt can fade with time
January 24th, 2026 at 2:12 pm
“El hefe Says:
January 24th, 2026 at 12:10 pm
The dumbest thing we could do is bring in teddy baker doesn’t know how to slide to save himself and the team a loss all the knowledge teddy supposedly brings didn’t show up we still lost games I believe we could have won with a decent back up we get rid of trask …………………he played a lil smarter if he knows we can’t move forward without his madness”
This comment surely contains a pregnant pause…..you can tell by all the missing periods
January 24th, 2026 at 2:48 pm
Beeej Says:
I got the impression his injury(s) weren’t the sort of thing they sitting a week or 2 would fix
—————————————————————————————
@Beeej,
I also had the same impression.
I heard that he had a separated shoulder (his non-throwing shoulder), and that was just one of several injuries he was dealing with. It’s not something a week or two of rest would fix.
January 24th, 2026 at 2:48 pm
@Teacherman
You’re not an actual teacher I hope. 🤣
January 24th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
It wasn’t hidden. The offense was so bad he had to shoulder the load, no offensive tackles his 1st 4 games, no iOL for the last 6, no RB, and only rookie WR’s (& Shep). We ALL saw what Baker played through.
Sorry, Grizz and this defense out Baker in terrible positions – without a back up – the game plan was from the back of a napkin and deteriorated to Baker being beaten to a pulp in Detroit. He was never the same the rest of the season.
No, I don’t need to guess – they beat Baker to a pulp and had no answers on offense or defense. It was coaching malpractice.
Get an edge, 2 iLB’s and a starting CB, TE & a (power) RB, in free agency, draft defensively guys – get M1k3 back draft some WE/KR depth. Get off the wallet and keep Baker protected!
January 24th, 2026 at 3:27 pm
White Tiger Says:
Get an edge, 2 iLB’s and a starting CB, TE & a (power) RB, in free agency, draft defensively guys – get M1k3 back draft some WE/KR depth.
—————————————————————————————-
^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS!
Atlanta has a TE and RB about to become free agents, both worth bringing over IMO. That may be one of the advantages of having Zac Robinson as the new OC.
I’m not as concerned with the secondary. They’ll look better if the pass rush is dramatically improved, which is necessary. And Bowles needs to simplify the defensive scheme so the players understand WTF they’re supposed to be doing, and can play fast.
January 24th, 2026 at 3:52 pm
Teacher man has a man crush
January 24th, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Most avoided tackles by a quarterback in 2025 (38) was led by the “unathletic” BM6😂. The HS band participants know nothing about football. They called the quarterback that has converted more 3rd downs with his legs than anybody for 2 years now unathletic. That is how ignorant about football they are. If you lead the league like that, you are one of the most athletic quarterbacks there is. He also led the NFL in 4th comebacks this year. Didn’t Baker have a 4th quarter comeback for the win against the Seattle Seahawks this year? You know the Seattle team that has the best defense in the league and IS playing in the NFC Championship game tomorrow? Yes tomorrow. If we can ever put it all together we would be the ones playing in that game, obviously. Heal up Baker
January 24th, 2026 at 4:14 pm
More excuses, for bad QB play……Enough already! Everyone in the NFL deals with injuries….Come on, Stop It!!! Let’s Go Bucs!!! Please stop trying to justify bakers play, which is mediocre and will always be mediocre. He said it himself “He’s Trash” or he felt that way… if it walks like a duck………..
January 24th, 2026 at 4:38 pm
2021 – Baker plays so poorly, he gets shipped out of town… but why? Oh right, Baker was hurt.
2022 – Baker gets cut by Carolina… but why? Oh right, Baker was hurt.
2023 – Baker has a terrible middle of the year, the team goes 1-6 in the stretch… but why? Oh right, Baker was hurt.
2024 – People have very selective memory, but the team goes through a 2-6 stretch, Baker alternates between good games and bad games… but why? Oh right, Baker was hurt.
2025 – Baker goes 2-7 down the stretch, single handedly loses 4 games in a row that knock the Bucs out the playoffs… but why? Oh right, Baker was hurt.
So one of two things here, Baker is hurt all the time, and it’s very difficult to build a team around an always hurt player.
Or Baker is just a very inconsistent QB and people use the claim he’s constantly hurt as an excuse for his very inconsistent play.
In either case, clearly the team needs a legit backup QB option, since it’s obviously Baker will get ‘hurt’ again next year, and maybe you take that opportunity to sit him for a game or two until he’s ‘healthy’.
January 24th, 2026 at 6:07 pm
Hey Rod: Talk about “selective memory”. Your bias is so obvious. If you need more accurate reference, go back to White Tiger’s post at 3:02.
You make yourself look like a total numbnut – with your constant assertions that all games lost were due to Mayfield.
Rod — go ahead and cover the last 3 years with a different QB than Baker. And — don’t bother substituting one of the other top QB players in the league because that too wouldn’t be realistic.
January 24th, 2026 at 7:32 pm
Sinclear
Baker is not obligated to share his medical file , nor are you , regardless of income.
The dumbing down of America is complete.
January 24th, 2026 at 7:54 pm
Great topic. This is why TB & JL are on very hot seats. JL signed scrubs as backups. It finally caught up with him. Baker got the crap beat out of him as a result. JL promoted the highly inexperienced and ineffective OC, and stood idly by and let better teams get better at the trade deadline. TB Aand JL have their backs against the wall now. We’ll see how they work under tremendous pressure during THEIR prove-it year.
January 24th, 2026 at 8:58 pm
When Baker threw his first touchdown pass to Otton and his left arm & hand went up…instead of hanging at his side like it had since the Bi I knew he was feeling better.
January 24th, 2026 at 8:59 pm
Some of you guys are super unfair to Mayfield. While he’s far from the best Qb in the league. He’s just as far from the worst. Mayfield since he’s been here has been in the unenviable position for most games for us to win he had to play mistake free football. Due to defense and special teams screw ups, he had no room for error. No short fields, no defensive bail outs when a mistake was made.Defense giving up late 4 th quarter leads. No Qb can keep playing mistake free football all season it’s impossible. Under the circumstances I think he played pretty dam well.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:22 pm
Great article. No reason to cut Trask IMO. We saw what Teddy did when he was called. Dude can’t and won’t run and his arm is awful. Much bigger upside with Trask at backup.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:22 pm
No one even said those things. Rod Munch is either a liar or an idiot. You decide
January 24th, 2026 at 11:24 pm
No Heavy e every qb doesnt deal with injuries mainly due to having a good line with good backups. When you don’t have that then yes your qb gets beat up. Not a clue as usual.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:29 pm
BM6 is so average he was rated #1 for half the season until he legitimately got injured. He was rated #1 mainly due to him destroying some of the best defenses in the league, 2 were the best. Only the idiots on this site can actually say a qb that totally dominated the best defenses up until he was hurt is average. These boneheads have zero self-awareness. Talk about a waste of time.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:44 pm
Baker was hurt but before he was hurt he beat numerous defenses that were some of the best in the league. When TB & JL put a healthy team together Baker will take that team, our team, all the way. There is no reason we shouldn’t be in the NFC Championship if we were healthy. 3 of the teams we played are playing in both championship games. 1 we beat and another we could have beat. The only one that we couldn’t have beat were the Rams. Put us a team together Jason. Keep them healthy Todd and they will go all the way.
January 24th, 2026 at 11:47 pm
I loved that Baker could pull it down and get a first down late in a close game. However it became a bad thing last year because he was pulling it down way too much. How many great to good QBs have proven BA correct. Decades worth of evidence says he is right.
Canales did at least one thing right. He focused on getting Baker to get the ball out fast. Maybe we need to get back to that?
Go Bucs!
January 25th, 2026 at 1:14 am
Signing Bridgewater was one of the worst FA signings of all time. Honestly, the guy literally admitted he was only playing football for the money, and that he’d rather be coaching high school. That’s all you need to know.
January 25th, 2026 at 2:27 am
Chipbuc Says:
January 24th, 2026 at 8:59 pm
Some of you guys are super unfair to Mayfield. While he’s far from the best Qb in the league. He’s just as far from the worst.
———–
So you’re saying he’s somewhere in the middle… i.e., middling.
I don’t think that’s an unfair description.
January 25th, 2026 at 3:46 am
no evidence is needed…i literally saw at least 2-3 games where he willingly let himself get the living sh!t kicked out of himself…
like straight t the ice tube style beatings…
as well as a handful of other games where he was knocked around pretty well…
maybe this “i’ll run thru you like a linebacker” attitude needs to be put to rest already
January 25th, 2026 at 3:51 am
when baker’s at his best he’s still a lower end top 10 qb…(like 7 to 9)…
and when baker is not exactly cooking, he can slip to like 12ish or as far as like 15th…
and at that point he is slipping into midsville…
midsville is a small town off the coast of cleveland with high elavation and a population of 9 people…4 mayfields, and 4 stefanskys, as well as that one surfer dude who lives under the boardwalk at the imaginary beach
January 25th, 2026 at 7:22 am
The Bucs are damn lucky to have Baker.
January 25th, 2026 at 7:54 am
How about Munch lying about Baker’s injury situation. He cites 2021 as evidence that Mayfield was faking an injury. Did he also fake the labrum surgery he had on his shoulder as soon as the 2021 season was over? Pretty clever to get a surgeon involved with the fake injury.
Here are a couple of thoughts: Munch is a liar and his good buddy DavidBigBucsFan99 is a creep.