“I Don’t Plan On The Bucs Being Trash”
June 27th, 2026
Former Bucs QB Chris Simms thinks Baker Mayfield is the NFL’s 10th-best quarterback. Longtime CBS NFL insider Pete Prisco just ranked Mayfield No. 16 at his position.
Joe thinks it’s fair to say that’s a legit range for Mayfield. He’ll likely fit somewhere between No. 10 and No. 16 come Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Is that good enough for the Buccaneers to extend Mayfield’s contract at market value? Six-time Bucs Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy thinks so.
In fact, McCoy thinks the Bucs would be making a major roll of the dice if they toss Mayfield aside for a 2027 rookie or a free agent.
“You want to have a guy that puts you in position to compete,” McCoy told Kyle Odegard of RotoGrinders.com. “If you get rid of Baker, who is that guy? The draft is full of question marks. I don’t care how good they were in college. That does not guarantee they will be good in the NFL.
“So if you get rid of Baker, who do you go get? Who is out there? If there’s a top (NFL) quarterback out there, that team is not going to let them go. And to get a good guy in the draft, you’ve got to be trash. I don’t plan on the Bucs being trash, so you might as well sign him. Let’s build this thing and see what happens.”
Like McCoy, Joe doesn’t plan on the Bucs being trash, either. This should not be a five- or six-win Tampa Bay team, and that’s exactly how many wins a team needed last year for a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
As discussed in detail on the Ira Kaufman Podcast, it’s hard to imagine Team Glazer would want to gamble on drafting or signing a new QB if they believe Mayfield is better than most NFL starters.
Say Team Glazer thinks Mayfield is the NFL’s 12th-best quarterback, would the owners really want to rebuild the entire club in hopes of finding the next Drake Maye? Hard to imagine, but so was Mike Evans kneeling before the alleged greatness that is Brock Purdy.
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June 27th, 2026 at 11:56 am
“So if you get rid of Baker, who do you go get? Who is out there? If there’s a top (NFL) quarterback out there, that team is not going to let them go. And to get a good guy in the draft, you’ve got to be trash. I don’t plan on the Bucs being trash, so you might as well sign him. Let’s build this thing and see what happens.”
They kept Bowles so obviously, they plan on being trash. The “if not Baker then who” question is so stupid. There’s the draft and FA to find a good or better QB. The Rams traded for their MVP amd SB winning QB. The Ravens drafted Jackson at the end of the 1st round, so you don’t have to be terrible to find a good QB. Mahomes was drafted at pick 10.
So many people are scared the future won’t work out so they’d rather stick with what’s clearly not working. It hasn’t been working since Bowles got here and Baker is taking this team nowhere.
This team is overdue for change. And avoiding drafting a QB means you’re shopping for other teams QBs that they didn’t want. Not a good long term strategy.
June 27th, 2026 at 12:01 pm
Baker ain’t goin nowhere. He will take us to a superbowl as soon as the coaches and our GM have a team worthy of a superbowl. The coaches are the only thing keeping us from getting there. It’s like the Glazers said, we don’t mind writing a big check to keep Baker here.
June 27th, 2026 at 12:35 pm
You do not have to be trash to get a high pick , but you do have to be willing to make the trade to move into position to get that high pick. This is where Jason Licht does not have what it takes, Licht moved up once in his career and that was only 1 spot higher.
Bucs will wait and see what happens this season as they should , because shpuld the Bucs and Mayfield under perform again, Bowles and possibly Licht are gone. There is no guarantee that Sean McDermott or Mike Tomlin would come to Tampa if they are forced into having Licht as their GM , and would you pass on either of those two coaches so you can keep Licht? I think not.
June 27th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
This is basically what I said on the last Baker article thread. Name the Qb you want to replace him with. Some like Mac Jones. There’s probably gonna be a market for him if he makes it to free agency next year. 6-8 teams. If Jason really offers him a lot (30+m per year) you probably have about a 25% chance that he signs here. Another 50+% chance he flops again. Yes, I’m guessing on the chance percentage but it’s not gonna be much higher than I’m estimating. It’s just a risky move. If you can’t get him you’re forced to move up (Two 1st round picks) into the top 10 of the draft and pick whatever Qb falls to you. We all know that’s a coin flip too. One that long time Bucs fans know comes up snake eyes all too often.
June 27th, 2026 at 12:50 pm
In pure talent level Baker is top 5-9. It’s absolutely essential we sign him or the likelihood is we spend the next 20 years foundering around looking for a QB and never again finding one. Like the lost decade but longer. Many NFL franchises don’t even have a legit starter ^right now^ and we are considering letting ours get away?
Insane. Totally insane. I cannot help but think the people that keep suggesting this are fans of other teams and want him.
June 27th, 2026 at 12:59 pm
An injured Drake Maye was trash, too. Just help Baker with a solid run game and above average defense and he won’t have to pull so many stunts and get hurt. There’s no other game in town. Yet methinks they’ve offered Baker 55m over three years and he wants 60+ over five with most guaranteed, so I don’t know how they’ll square that circle.
June 27th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
Either that or they know nothing about football and are unable to judge talent. Like the posts the final straw keeps mentioning that in the ALL 22 it’s very obvious what was going on last year and it wasn’t Baker’s fault the vast majority of the time. Trust Ronde and Arians and their opinions if you aren’t informed enough to make your own.
June 27th, 2026 at 1:10 pm
As JBF doesn’t allow external links you’ll have to find it yourself, but there was spot on WDAE about chasing the next quarterback. To sum it up, of all the quarterbacks taken in the last 10 NFL drafts, only 3 have been starters to lead their teams to the Super Bowl. The draft is a 50/50 crap shoot at best.
Baker can’t lead the Bucs to the SB? Yeah, neither could Brad Johnson. There is way too much uncertainty in the future. We don’t have to sign Baker, we have the ‘Franchise Tag’, but what if Baker pulls a Le’Veon Bell and doesn’t sign it? We don’t even know if Bowles will be here or Licht for that matter. Heck, the Glazers could decide to sell the team.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Sign Baker to a five year $285 million contract with $125 million guaranteed. The $125 million guaranteed is the only relevant number. Much like Baker’s current contract, if the Bucs want/need to, they can push a lot to the backend, but if not, they can get out of it fairly easily after year 3. For those needing help with math, 125 over 3 years is approx. $42 million per year.
June 27th, 2026 at 1:11 pm
Try 55 over 5 then Cape…
June 27th, 2026 at 1:46 pm
Are you trying to tell me that the most mediocre QB in the NFL was ranked #16?
I don’t believe it!
LOL!
June 27th, 2026 at 2:04 pm
He had a rough season a lot like Mahomes did before his injury. It happens when all your high paid offensive starters are out and there’s no pass protection and little skill position players left. He’s not *remotely* mediocre. He was drafted #1 for many still valid reasons.
June 27th, 2026 at 2:07 pm
Good thing is he is already signed to play football for yhe Bucs this season. We can revisit this conversation after the season and quote the likes of Simms and McCoy then.
June 27th, 2026 at 2:09 pm
Mac Jones
June 27th, 2026 at 2:17 pm
Mahomes has won many playoff games and 3 superbowls. When you have a take Matt, that can be valid, don’t get all hyperbolic with comparing a guy who 60-63 as a starter to a HOF QB. It sounds ridiculous.
Baker has struggled in big games, has been inconsistent and plays a reckless (some call it tough) that can cause injury.
I like Baker..but he needs to prove to be more consistent, win some big games and prove he can lead a team in the playoffs.
Handing him a huge contract because “who else are you gonna get” is bad bad business.
June 27th, 2026 at 2:19 pm
” Trash” A team or player that struggles?? Its a shame the players or coaches don’t have a blog like this so they can share their feelings about these wonderful fans
June 27th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
The only question i have for Mayfield, is why not jumping ship to Pitt or back to Cleveland once Monkon took over Garret would have stayed,the all you retards would now how it feels being back on th qb carousel ! Watch what you wish for!
June 27th, 2026 at 2:54 pm
Look, I like Baker. But this crap about “who else are you going to get” is just weak.
Someday, the guy is going to retire or maybe leave. They will have a starting QB the season following his departure, whether his leaving is Brady style or Evans style.
So let’s just stop this.
Everyone is replaceable.
June 27th, 2026 at 3:02 pm
It’s the team around the QB, not just one guy, although that 1 guy has to be able to produce, duh. Saying that look at history. Seattle with Wilson, last piece of the puzzle, done nothing since then, thought he was the reason. Uh, no. Mahomes in the SB against us. Team injured and all of his 2 targets shut down. Stafford? He was lucky to survive us and get to the SB. What has he done since? I hear about Josh Allen. Another 1 man show. Lamar, Joe Burrow, who else? It’s as simple as an etch-a-sketch. If this can be a balanced team they have a real shot with Baker. I think he took too much on his shoulders last year.