The Risk Of Angering Baker Mayfield
July 8th, 2026
Dangerous game of chicken?
While Joe just doesn’t see the following happening (short of a total collapse by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield this fall), the creator, curator and overall guru of Pro Football Talk, the great Mike Florio, makes the case that this cannot be ruled out.
So far, as we heard from Mike Garafolo of NFL Network this week, both Mayfield’s camp and the Bucs are still far apart in talks to extend Mayfield. The Bucs quarterback is in a contract year with the Bucs.
Mayfield, at least in Joe’s mind, seemed positive recently when he spoke about the impasse from his youth camp at the University of Oklahoma. He professed his love for the Bucs and the Tampa Bay region and said if he had to leave the Bucs, Tampa would likely remain home for him and his family.
Ah ha! you say. Mayfield didn’t rule out the chance he would leave. And that’s where Florio thinks the Bucs might be playing a potentially hazardous game of chicken with Mayfield.
Let’s say the Bucs low ball Mayfield. They don’t cough up more Team Glazer loot. Would Mayfield, a prideful guy, reach a breaking point and just say, “Aw, [eff] it” and bolt to take a job elsewhere?
Florio believes that possibility cannot be dismissed as he explains in a PFT Live video.
Florio makes a good case. At some point, if Mayfield’s pride is bruised, does he give the Bucs the finger and run off, even for less money, to prove a point?
Joe is not inclined to believe that happens for two reasons. The first is, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has the franchise tag in his back pocket. At the end of the day, the Joe typing this here article thinks — no undercover intel here at all — that is eventually what will happen.
The second reason Joe doesn’t believe Mayfield will choose the nuclear option is that his best friends are on the team, specifically on the offensive line. There are few places he could go that already has an offensive line like the Bucs have.
We all saw what happened last year when the offensive line was riddled with injuries. Mayfield got beat to hell.
Does Mayfield want to shaft his best friends and leave the Bucs scrambling for a quarterback?
As Joe has typed before, everything he has heard both on and off the record is that Mayfield wants to stay with the Bucs and the Bucs want Mayfield as their starting quarterback. One way or the other, Joe expects Mayfield to be the Bucs’ starting quarterback in 2027.
The Bucs believe no one will offer Baker Mayfield more than they will. What if he takes less elsewhere just to make a point? pic.twitter.com/jpD2Inv9w6
— PFT Live (@PFT_Live) July 8, 2026
July 8th, 2026 at 7:11 am
Bucs can franchise Bake for 2 more seasons after this year. The only way Bake leaves is if Bucs allow it.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:20 am
As soon as they franchise him, 30 million in deferred cap comes up immediately. I suppose that same thing happens if he walks
July 8th, 2026 at 7:39 am
@ Beeej
I believe you are correct.
I was banging the “franchise Baker” drum until this was pointed out and I double checked.
We don’t want $80M on the books for BM in 2027…
Seems the best route is to workout another 2-3 year deal with 2 years of bag money.
$50-$55M per with @ $100M G-teed money seems fair.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:51 am
Florio makes a good case. At some point, if Mayfield’s pride is bruised, does he give the Bucs the finger and run off, even for less money, to prove a point?
^^^^^^^
Sal made that case months ago. I don’t think Baker fits the Bucs long term coaching plans. As I said months ago I think they might hope Baker asks for a trade just so they could say it wasn’t their fault he left.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:56 am
Franchising Baker:
2027 $50M
2028 $60M
Best for the both:
$150M x 3 years with two years guaranteed
Stick to your guns Jason. Baker is our guy, but his reckless play combined with his record under the lights suggests he’s not a top tier QB. Great QBs get it done whether they’re hurt or not. Don’t get stuck overpaying for our beloved overachiever.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:59 am
Joe was certain Mike Evans was going to stay in Tampa.
But he took a pay cut and a tax hike to go to a vastly better team.
He now has a real HC and a QB with winning credentials not just hype.
Baker is like that hot girl in high school that everyone wants but she never puts out.
That’s when a high school aged young man moves on to a different girl who might not be as hot, but your backseat gets a lot of action.
Results actually matter.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:00 am
Run Baker Run!
I know it will be tough learning a new offense in 2027 …
But you can do it again….
July 8th, 2026 at 8:07 am
baker has to prove he deserves a raise lol….1 playoff win 3 years ago suggest he doesnt…..
win enough games and he’ll get paid…8-9, 9-8 wont cut it!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
July 8th, 2026 at 8:13 am
Can any gator fans give an update on where trask is? If he was only given a chamce to play with the first team.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:13 am
There’s a deal on the table, meaning there’s already a value point ownership & the front office feel Mayfield is worth. Mayfield disagrees, but at the end of the day it’s him looking for a payday and not us looking to pay him some inflated value.
In my opinion, not feeling like the initial offer is enough puts Mayfield in position to have to play & perform for the money he wants, so it’s kind of hard to jump to the conclusion of franchises tagging him as that assumes his level of play in ’26 will deserve it and at best right now-that’s a B-grade best case scenario for Mayfield. A-grade would be ownership miraculously re-offering a more lucrative deal, and without seeing the initial deal how sure can anybody be that happens?
This is idea Florio floats about Mayfield taking less money to be petty and stick it to the Bucs, isn’t going to get him to cash out how he feels he should at this point. So idk how or why that’d be an option.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:13 am
Proud “Baker boi” here *eyeroll.* But who cares if Baker gets mad. I love his gumption, gile, fiery attitude/competitiveness, he’s got a rocket arm blah blah, but he was bad last yr. And while it’s fun to see him occasionally truck dudes and talk his shi – he hasn’t exhibited the ability to play at a high level when he’s nicked up. And we still don’t know just how “nicked up” he was last year. No hitch in his throws, no limping etc, so the hurt excuse is thrown around a lot but there was nothing visually obvious. How well is he going to age at 31 if he keeps getting “hurt” and do we really want just good enough? IS he just good enough? I dunno. The problem with going 8-9 or 9-8 again this yr (and we surely WILL) is that we will be just good enough to miss out on a CJ Carr or an Arch Manning. Would be way cooler to have a 6-4 stud with a bazooka arm on a rookie contract for 4 years with a higher ceiling. I don’t wanna pay 50 mil for middle of the road, and neither do the Bucs
July 8th, 2026 at 8:15 am
Let Baker leave and let another team overpay. Do people realize that Baker isnt the only option? The way some people talk you’d think Baker is a top 3 QB but he’s nowhere close to that. Mediocre minds and scared people stick to average and poor results because they are afraid of the unknown. So people dont want to draft a new QB because of “hugh bust rate” but when a player at another position doesn’t workout, they say just draft another. But when it comes to QB they say no to drafting one but yes to pay $50+ mil annually for an old, injured, inaccurate QB.
Thats bucs fans and bucs media. They love slop. They love almost winning and primetime losses. They love highlight runs by the QB with under 200 yds passing. The loser mentality permeates throughout the organization, media and fanbase that look at this team and want to stay the course.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:17 am
Sal also predicted months ago that Baker would end up in Pittsburg with Rogers being traded here. However Sal predicted that Rogers might say no to Tampa thus resulting in some sort of three way deal. Could Vita be included in such a deal ? It’s all about the money. The Bucs will blame it all on Baker and have a weak tank lose the division and screw up once again.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:31 am
Sal, Aaron Rogers? Come on man! keep that prima donna as far away from Tampa as possible. Baker with an actual starting offensive line will be fine. There is already a deal in place just some minor tweaking.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:34 am
I think Baker would be making a big mistake leaving Tampa. I think Mayfield is smarter than the average Bear, and he knows that. That gives Licht the upper hand. Baker’s career hinges on stability at a single franchise (the Bucs) and a strong team (working on it). I like Florio, but he’s stretching.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:37 am
Doesn’t the franchise tag guarantee top five money for a year? That’s probably more than Mayfield earns on the free market so it would be, if not a win-win, definitely not a lose-lose. But, Baker definitely has the incentive to sign for longer term because a career ending injury is the most likely scenario for his last NFL football move. Whenever that may be.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:38 am
Hey Joe – did Baker ever recover any of his prior life savings that his own father and brother stole from him?
I believe it was @ $12M cash. Ouch.
Just curious…
July 8th, 2026 at 8:44 am
Not show Mayfield respect??? WHAT THE …… FLUCK?
The Buccaneers “ARE THAT TEAM” J@ck@ss…. Talk about reaching. He would have said the same thing if he would have just kept repeating one of his favorite lines and it goes like this… duh duh duh duh, duh duh, duh duh duh…..
That is EXACTLY how Mayfield got here in the first place EXCEPT…. Mayfield had NO OTHER interested teams at that time…. Tampa Bay IS the ONLY TEAM that showed him “Love” when ALL OTHERS wouldn’t even invite him in for a drink of water.
This guy is a mook
July 8th, 2026 at 8:51 am
why not just let Vea and Mayfield play out their contracts and then clean house next year with a new HC and GM ?
July 8th, 2026 at 8:52 am
LynchMob puts things into perspective. 🙂
July 8th, 2026 at 8:56 am
This isn’t a complicated as folks make it out to be.
If Baker, Bowles and the Bucs have a good year (10 plus wins), then Bowles and Baker will both be back.
If the Bucs have a terrible year 7 wins or less, then Bowles is toast and the new coaching staff will decide if they want to keep Baker or start the rebuild.
There is no world in which Baker and the Bucs have a successful season and Baker leaves because he’s butt hurt. The Bucs hold all the cards.
No need to hand Baker the bag before this important season plays out.
July 8th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Im Baker Mayfield! After the disastrous ending to the 2025 season ,im sorry looking forward to 2026 I have a new toy in my backfield and a healthy Bucky Im so looking forward to getting back with Eggy and playing with my new toys in the reciever room,my offensive line is finally healthy..My boss didn’t draft a qb this year so they’re trusting me to put up 40 tds to 10 picks which is very much doable! I have a few dollars now in the bank so what’s the rush?? OH YEAH! ONE MORE THING! NO MORE DIVA CRAP OUT OF THAT ENTITLED MIKE EVANS!
July 8th, 2026 at 9:06 am
I think it’s kind of funny that if Baker hit the open market he would be relegated to less than what the Bucs offer.
People, it is so damn hard to find a qb there is going to be a bidding war for Will freaking Levis.