“Absolutely, No Question”
June 13th, 2026
“You’re my guy, ‘Bake.'”
The will-he-or-won’t-he debate of Baker Mayfield’s future with the Bucs was oddly enough kicked off by Mayfield himself last week when he said the initial extension offer floated by the Bucs wasn’t close to what he wanted.
Potential frustration with the Bucs motivating Mayfield to leave doesn’t seem to be any sort of issue from KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ perspective.
Joe could understand if Mayfield is frustrated. He’s had a revolving door of offensive coordinators, a new one each season. Then last year, the Bucs collapsed and then-offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was thrown under the bus as a culprit.
Bowles said after the final OTA practice of the spring this week he doesn’t sense the losing season combined with the disappointing second half and the constant change at offensive coordinator is chasing Mayfield out of town.
“I think [Mayfield is] a true pro,” Bowles said. “I don’t think there’s any disappointment whatsoever.
“I mean, he loves it here. We love him here. Contract stuff takes care of itself, whether it’s the quarterback or any other position that comes up.
“Those things get worked out over time. You just concentrate on what we’ve got to concentrate on, on the field, and he’s been great right there.”
When Bowles was asked if his desire is for the Bucs to extend Mayfield’s contract, Bowles left no doubt where he stands.
“Absolutely, no question,” Bowles said.
Well there you have it. Bowles is on record the Bucs must keep Mayfield.
Joe knows not all his readers read every word he types.
So Joe will repeat: Joe is confident Mayfield, some how, some way, will be taking snaps from center for the Bucs to start the 2027 season.
June 13th, 2026 at 8:24 am
They can’t handle the truth Joe.
June 13th, 2026 at 8:31 am
Non-issue.
Bring on the pads!
June 13th, 2026 at 8:31 am
Let Mayfield go after this season and bring in Kirk Cousins. Behind our OL, Kirk will play great. Or, bring in a rookie QB to create a lot of excitement by breaking Jameis’ interception record. Heck, just bring in Jameis. The Baker haters will be excited to dump Baker for a really bad QB so the Bucs can “Tank In ’27”
June 13th, 2026 at 8:34 am
And I would have bet my house that Evans would be catching his passes this season.
June 13th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Joe knows not all his readers read every word he types.
No disrespect Joe, but its some of the silly monikers you attach to some of these guys, especially kit kat eating “I hate cats” Blowes. At least you can return to highlighting them so they are easier to skip over. With that and the usual plethora of misspelled and/or misplaced words, sometimes your content can be hard to read, but thanks just the same.
June 13th, 2026 at 8:55 am
Most frustrating moniker was Den of Depression
June 13th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Against world champ Seahawks: 29 of 33 for 379. He’s capable of that, we need that
June 13th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Mayfield has paid his dues with the Bucs when he signed his 3 year prove it contract. He’s likely getting a contract in the 50K range when all things are said and done.
June 13th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Bring back Teddy Bridgewater
June 13th, 2026 at 9:15 am
I think what a lot of JBF folks misunderstand about the NFL is that it is an entertainment business not a production business – the goal of teams is not to win but to attract eyeballs – teams like the Browns, Jags, Lions, and Texans are not in danger of going bankrupt despite the fact that they have never sniffed a SB – by that measure the Bucs would have collapsed years ago – Baker Mayfield is entertaining and charismatic – so he will stay – winning or losing is strictly a secondary concern for the Glazers – it is all about dollars and cents – it is not easy to win championships – it is easier to energize a fanbase with intriguing players than actually build a winner – Aaron Rodgers probably won’t win another SB but he certainly draws interest – the Steelers haven’t had much post-season success lately but they have been good enough to keep fans interested – Mayfield is good enough to keep fans interested for a few years and that is good enough for the Glazers
June 13th, 2026 at 9:50 am
JimBobbuc,
I know you have to be joking. One of the very few defenses Kirk plays great against is a Todd Bowles D. Besides that he is average at best against other ones. Thanks for giving me a laugh though.
June 13th, 2026 at 9:55 am
Doesn’t really matter what Kit Kat wants, it’s what Mike T wants.
June 13th, 2026 at 10:54 am
As we have been saying, Baker will be here for several more years for around $50 million a year. Thank you 😊
June 13th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Baker is trying to get paid the most guaranteed money he can get. Everyone thought Evans would retire a Buc….he bolted to a team that he believes is a true contender. Mayfield has no loyalty to us….he’s seen firsthand how the teams have no loyalty to the players. I’m convinced he’s focused on securing the most money possible either with us or elsewhere. Baker thrived under Coen and I think the Jags would consider him an upgrade to Lawrence as would half the teams in the league. Licht screws around and ends up franchise tagging him and I think he will pull a Kirk Cousins on us. He’ll get back to back $50 million per yr deals completely guaranteed AND then hit free agency still in his prime. By that point we might be talking $60 million per yr. Bucs will have to bite the bullet or face a total rebuild.
June 13th, 2026 at 12:36 pm
The people that think the Bucs hold all the cards are completely mistaken. That 30.15 million in dead cap money means the Bucs *must* sign him or pony up all 30 million at once for nothing. Not a good situation and I do hope the Bucs sign him to a 4 or 5 year deal to spread that money out over several years!
June 13th, 2026 at 1:40 pm
Bobby M. Says:
June 13th, 2026 at 11:53 am
Baker is trying to get paid the most guaranteed money he can get. Everyone thought Evans would retire a Buc….he bolted to a team that he believes is a true contender. Mayfield has no loyalty to us….he’s seen firsthand how the teams have no loyalty to the players. I’m convinced he’s focused on securing the most money possible either with us or elsewhere. Baker thrived under Coen and I think the Jags would consider him an upgrade to Lawrence as would half the teams in the league.
———–
LOL! What a fake news version of events.
Baker played like such trash last year, that Mike Evans didn’t want to be stuck playing with him again and left to go to the other side of the country rather than play with Baker. Mike literally said he wanted to go a contender “with a good QB”.
Also Lawrence was fantastic down the stretch last year – played his best in big moments, was sort of the anti-Baker, who plays his worst in big moments. Lawrence finished year hotter than Baker finished in 2024 – there isn’t anyone in Jacksonville who watched Baker meltdown and cost the Bucs the playoff last year that wants him over Lawrence.
I will agree with you, however, that Baker wants the most money possible. Nothing wrong with that, but he’s also no Tom Brady, who was most concerned with winning and always took very team friendly deals to make that happen.
June 13th, 2026 at 3:47 pm
When asked if it is desire that Baker stay, Bowles answered, “Absolutely. No question.”
I am not sure that is the same as claiming he said that Baker must stay. But, if he did mean must, then they can always tag him.
June 13th, 2026 at 4:30 pm
Mahomes just signed fir 8 yrs and 500 million.
Baker is going to get p as id a lot. By someone.
Not sure on us after last year. Sorry
You just cant make hassan mistakes any more.
June 13th, 2026 at 5:01 pm
Pay Baker. You’re not going anywhere without him. Let’s move on! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
June 13th, 2026 at 5:16 pm
We all know that a main reason for getting rid of Bowles is the offensive side of the ball.
5 OCs in 5 years and having 2 of those OCs win your division or go for 12+ wins within 1 or 2 years of leaving is a problem!
Evans was tired of it (1 of numerous reasons but still a reason guaranteed), Baker has to be sick of changing OCs almost every year of his career. Us fans hope we are getting something good but have no idea each season.
You can not sustain success with a revolving door at coaching positions. Ask the Eagles. They have other issues but when you have an OC that can put the team on his back and help win SBs, you keep them somehow, someway. Hurts is very limited in what he can do in the passing game and he’s been to 2 super bowls.