The Double-Edged Sword Of Baker Mayfield
May 12th, 2026
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield.
The stats back up Baker Mayfield’s words.
There is no doubt that the Bucs’ signal-caller has had a career renaissance since he joined the Bucs in 2023. He was on the scrap heap of the NFL and the Bucs were the lone team that wanted him as a starter.
And, it just so happened Tom Brady decided to pack it in.
Mayfield is a big reason why the Bucs have been mostly successful since Brady retired.
Since he came to the Bucs, Mayfield, on several occasions, has said the Bucs were the first team that let him be him. In fact, both KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles and Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht reportedly told Mayfield when he arrived in Tampa to just be himself and everything will be alright.
So that has worked out. Mostly.
Mayfield being himself means Mayfield playing at times like a Labrador puppy in the backyard. “Nobody open? OK, I’ll get a first down myself.”
Mayfield’s play is fun as can be to watch. He fires up the fans and lights a fire under his teammates. Defensive players, too.
When Mayfield is on a roll, just like last year, he is one of the best players in the league. There is a reason he was talked about as a potential league MVP.
But with that devil-may-care play also comes punishment. As Bucco Bruce Arians famously says, “Put your quarterback in harm’s way, harm will find him.”
Harm found Mayfield halfway through last season. Mayfield before the bye week when he was running for critical first downs to keep the chains moving, and throwing darts for touchdowns, was thrilling (and winning) football.
But then the physical toil of Mayfield’s play caught up with him. He got beat to hell and in the second half of the season, Mayfield was a shell of himself. Not coincidentally, the Bucs’ season circled the drain.
Mayfield is now 31. As Phil Simms likes to say, you don’t get quicker as you get older. The hits do more damage than they did five or six years ago.
But that’s the problem: If you don’t let Mayfield be Mayfield, he’s a lesser quarterback. But if you let Mayfield be Mayfield, he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the league, but prone to get beat up.
So what is Zac Robinson, the new Bucs offensive coordinator, to do? If you let Mayfield be Mayfield, he may be shot when you need him the most, that’s in the playoffs.
But if you don’t let Mayfield be Mayfield, he may be healthier in December, but you may not get to the playoffs.
Joe hopes Robinson sheds some light on this later this morning when he and other Bucs assistants will be trotted out to the local pen and mic club for the first time since the 2025 season ended.
Baker Mayfield going from 9 rushing yards per game in the first six seasons of his career to 22 rushing yards per game in each of the past two seasons feels pretty unprecedented
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 11, 2026
May 12th, 2026 at 4:00 am
Healthy O line and strong running game, problem solved. Zac also needs to work on 3rd and 4th down short yardage situations with the O line and RBs. Keep Baker from sacrificing his body in these situations.
May 12th, 2026 at 4:16 am
The issue resolves itself and not in a positive manner. All you have to do is see Russell Wilson. That is a close comp to BM.
When he was no longer able to scramble his effectiveness decreased, significantly. It was not because he made a conscious decision to scramble less. He got older and Peyton knew he had to learn or he was cooked. Eventually the legs gave out.
You want to see Baker avoid that, he needs to focus his energy into playing on time from the pocket consistently. That’s not a terrific part of his game which is a big problem for a 31 yr old qb. I’d argue he’s better at it than Wilson ever was but still not great.
May 12th, 2026 at 4:23 am
Obvious …..Baker absolutely is NOT comparable to Russ.Bro, WTF..Russ for a almost a decade was a top 5-7 QB , annual high mvp FINISHER. Bro delete that. Prime Baker is not half the QB of Prime Russ.
May 12th, 2026 at 4:43 am
He isn’t comparing him to Russell that way.
Only by how beat up they get scrambling. Look at Lamar.
Fun to watch but will probably never win a SB because he gets hurt.
This has been the knock on Baker since his Cleveland days.
Always the problem with small QBs.
You gotta turn into Drew Brees or you don’t have a prayer at longevity at that size.
I like Baker, but have doubts he can play a whole season at a high level.
If the Bucs brass felt differently than that, they would have signed him already.
It’s definitely not getting cheaper by waiting.
May 12th, 2026 at 5:54 am
This has been the knock on Baker since his Cleveland days.”
total hogwash. Baker had one injury and played through it in Cleveland. That was NEVER the knock on Baker in Cleveland
“I like Baker, but have doubts he can play a whole season at a high level.”
He already has year before last
try not telling us you don’t know what you are talking about
May 12th, 2026 at 5:55 am
Mostly successful. Kinda like mostly peaceful with a building engulfed in flames in the background.
Baker is 27-24 in the regular season as the Bucs QB. 1-2 in the playoffs. Put that all together and you get 28-26. Not worthy of big money.
Every year we get diminishing returns from him. It’s getting worse, not better.
Playoff have gone down from 1-1, 0-1, 0. Pressure players don’t allow that to happen.
If they can flush Toulet Bowles after 2026 and get a real QB that can win big games, we might have something.
May 12th, 2026 at 5:58 am
One of my favorite comments by some casual sports pundits, Bucs covering websites, and of course all of his fans is the defense of Baker’s play in 2025 down the final stretch was obviously due to injury. And yet through most of his career, he’s been pretty much what we saw last season. This guy needed to “will” us 1 more victory, against teams with backup QBs already out of playoff contention, almost gifting us a victory and yet he couldn’t. Even in a one score game, with the ball in his hand, he could not figure out how to get us that one more first down, or one more final drive score? Was he banged up in that last ATL game where helped Mike Evans go off?… he looked healthy to me. Sure, the low hanging fruit was to hang the loss on the 3rd and 28, but that came after the following possession where Baker was a first down away from salting the game (closing that series might have kept Evans in Tampa). Oh, and prior to that, remember with about 8 minutes left in the game with an 8 pt lead, 2nd and 10, at the Falcons 45, Baker throws a horrible int, one could argue we get a field goal in that possession, and the game is over as well. Point is, Baker cannot find that extra gear we need from him consistently. He’s going to want to get paid as someone who can, but he can’t.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:28 am
Funny how everyone acts like he’s this great QB, a superstar, he’s the definition of average, he’s not going to get better with age, he’s going to get worse, extending him for top QB money will be a Tua, Russell, Kirk, Geno, Kyler type of franchise hindering mistake, 3 years at $40 with 2 years guaranteed is acceptable, $50+ and we are playing with fire
May 12th, 2026 at 6:28 am
Joe … ‘Mayfield being himself means Mayfield playing at times like a Labrador puppy in the backyard. “Nobody open? OK, I’ll get a first down myself.”
Sorry Joe, but Baker is nowhere close to being like a Labrador puppy. Now, like a Belgian Malinois puppy? OK, I could certainly buy that. Anyone who’s familiar with training them as youngsters has seen that they seem to have only 2 speeds: full-speed ahead and STOP (for a split-second then you’d better give them the next command or they’ll think of something to do on their own). They’re brilliant, high energy and fearless dogs, BUT … they’re not for everyone. Malinois NEED an ‘experienced parent’ who can provide countless ways to burn energy, see the great outdoors and train together.
Todd Bowles is supposed to be that ‘experienced parent’. Nuff said.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:29 am
If Baker knows he will get another bite at the cherry because his defense can get a stop, he will be able to make better decisions to protect himself.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:40 am
I’m a big Mayfield fan, but I understand the criticism. I’d like to see him work with a consistent starting offensive line this season and see what he can do. The Best QBs in history require protection. Brady, Manning & Mahomes all struggled when their offensive lines weren’t intact.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:45 am
I would cringe when we would make a good play that didn’t get into the endzone. Our goal line offense seemed to always do the wrong thing (screen, run parallel to the line, jump ball on third down, etc.) — often going backwards. Maybe you place 50% on the former OC’s play calling and 30% on Baker. We need that “get in and win” at the goal line mentality. Let’s call and execute plays that obliterate our weak division opponents. After the big fail in 2024, 2025 should have been the year, but all we got was womp-womp-whaaaa. After suffering through several lost decades, we all know how important QB play is. I hate to think about the reset button, I am getting too old for a string of 4 win seasons. Maybe Zac (unlike Dirk) is the secret ingredient.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:46 am
Lynch Mob: 27-24 is mediocre but 16-17 outside the division in the regular season is inexcusable. And the offense has finished 23rd and 21st in 2/3 years..Volume stats are meaningless.
May 12th, 2026 at 6:58 am
We still need a big powerful short yardage back.
May 12th, 2026 at 7:06 am
Baker has been good and bad at times. He needs a great running game to succeed at play action short / intermediate routes. Last season with bad OC,
Below average game and o line. Who is it you all think we can get to replace him?
A top 15 qb never makes it to FA. We need to take some swings in 1st or 2nd round draft for top qb prospects and develop them. But that’s not doable either when we change OCs every year. Bottom line is Baker is the best option available so get used to it.
May 12th, 2026 at 7:08 am
“…Mayfield playing at times like a Labrador puppy in the backyard.” Great analogy. I’ve been a huge fan of Mayfield since the flag plant. Dude has swagger! We are lucky to have him.
May 12th, 2026 at 7:14 am
Coaches fault.
He should have been benched until healthy.
The four games after the bye didn’t effect winning the division.