More Baker Mayfield debate.

A week from tomorrow, provided the Bucs don’t cancel a minicamp practice, underwear football season will end.

NFL teams will shut down their headquarters. Players, coaches and front office folks will scatter the globe trying to soak in life until the NFL comes out of its annual hibernation in late July.

And it seems the Bucs have fed the NFL news cycle to carry fans over with Baker Mayfield chatter. Will he or won’t he stay?

Joe would be absolutely shocked if Mayfield holds out. That’s not in his DNA to pull something like that. Over at ESPN, Dan Graziano wonders what to make of this Mayfield contract chatter.

It’s hard to know how this situation will shake out. Tampa Bay likes Mayfield and would keep him around, but he might feel he has outplayed his current deal and ask for more than the team wants to pay him. Mayfield and the Bucs are also coming off a disappointing season, so he and/or they might want to see how 2026 goes before making a major decision.

If I had to guess, I’d say the Bucs find a way to make some kind of adjustment to Mayfield’s deal before the season starts, but I can’t say for sure that adjustment will be a long-term extension. A lot still feels up in the air right now.

Well, the Joe typing here prefers to see how this season shakes out before putting another contract offer in front of Mayfield’s face. The Bucs have shown they want to keep Mayfield around for a few years. The ball is right now is in Mayfield’s court. We heard how he responded, but how will his agent respond?

It wouldn’t shock Joe if Mayfield and the Bucs agreed to an extension during training camp, even though Mayfield has publicly stated he won’t negotiate once training camp starts.

Here’s the catch: He won’t be negotiating. Mayfield’s agent will be the guy who negotiates.