- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,196,284
- Reaction score
- 59
The clock keeps ticking for the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield.
The Bucs are reportedly in "no rush" to extend Mayfield's contract, which expires after the 2026 season. Mayfield has imposed a deadline for getting something done before the start of training camp.
The Buccaneers report for camp on July 28, only 19 days from now.
The problem seems to be simple to identify, anything but simple to solve. The market for veteran starting quarterbacks currently has a range of more than $40 million per year, from the low 20s to the mid 60s. Where does Mayfield land in that landscape?
While he'll reportedly be getting $40 million this year (due to money that carried over from 2025), the APY remains $33.33 million. And the cash due this year under his contract is $27 million, with up to $5 million in incentives.
As we hear it, the Buccaneers believe they'll offer Mayfield more than any other team would put on the table. They likely also believe that, when they move to their bottom-line position (probably just before July 28), Mayfield will take it.
And maybe he will. Sometimes, the bird in the hand — while not as big as Baker may like — is too large to let fly away. Especially since he'll be carrying the risk of injury and sudden ineffectiveness through all 17 games of the 2026 season.
Mayfield, however, seems to be wired a little differently. He's stubborn, in what some would say is a good way. He may stand on principle with this one, based on the fact that other quarterbacks with equal or lesser skills and abilities have cracked the $50 million APY threshold.
The Buccaneers may welcome this approach, confident that, whatever he does this season, they'll still offer more than any other team.
That's what happened after 2023, his first year in Tampa. Mayfield's one-year deal expired, the Buccaneers didn't use the franchise tag for 2024, and no one else made a serious play for his services. (Even though multiple teams should have.)
This time, the franchise tag (based on a 2026 cap number of $39.975 million), would be at least $47.97 million. If the Bucs win the Super Bowl or Mayfield becomes an MVP finalist, they'd be able to tag him for 2027.
But if Mayfield has a good-not-great year, and if the Bucs play it out with the same belief that they'll offer him more than anyone else, here's where Mayfield's moxie can become a problem for the Bucs: he could take less from another team, just to prove a point.
And the one team that should be ready to make a move is the Steelers, where Mayfield's mentality (and history with the Browns) would resonate with the fanbase in a big way.
If Mayfield goes, the Bucs would go back to the drawing board at quarterback. The other options currently on the roster are Jalon Daniels, Jake Browning, and Connor Bazelak.
So while it seems the Buccaneers have a plan, they need to account for the possibility that, if they make Mayfield play out the last year of his deal and don't tag him, he could go elsewhere for less money — just to prove a point. And, based on the potential zeal with which he's recruited, to embrace a team that truly wants him instead of a team that he may regard as being ambivalent about keeping him around.
Continue reading...
The Bucs are reportedly in "no rush" to extend Mayfield's contract, which expires after the 2026 season. Mayfield has imposed a deadline for getting something done before the start of training camp.
The Buccaneers report for camp on July 28, only 19 days from now.
The problem seems to be simple to identify, anything but simple to solve. The market for veteran starting quarterbacks currently has a range of more than $40 million per year, from the low 20s to the mid 60s. Where does Mayfield land in that landscape?
While he'll reportedly be getting $40 million this year (due to money that carried over from 2025), the APY remains $33.33 million. And the cash due this year under his contract is $27 million, with up to $5 million in incentives.
As we hear it, the Buccaneers believe they'll offer Mayfield more than any other team would put on the table. They likely also believe that, when they move to their bottom-line position (probably just before July 28), Mayfield will take it.
And maybe he will. Sometimes, the bird in the hand — while not as big as Baker may like — is too large to let fly away. Especially since he'll be carrying the risk of injury and sudden ineffectiveness through all 17 games of the 2026 season.
Mayfield, however, seems to be wired a little differently. He's stubborn, in what some would say is a good way. He may stand on principle with this one, based on the fact that other quarterbacks with equal or lesser skills and abilities have cracked the $50 million APY threshold.
The Buccaneers may welcome this approach, confident that, whatever he does this season, they'll still offer more than any other team.
That's what happened after 2023, his first year in Tampa. Mayfield's one-year deal expired, the Buccaneers didn't use the franchise tag for 2024, and no one else made a serious play for his services. (Even though multiple teams should have.)
This time, the franchise tag (based on a 2026 cap number of $39.975 million), would be at least $47.97 million. If the Bucs win the Super Bowl or Mayfield becomes an MVP finalist, they'd be able to tag him for 2027.
But if Mayfield has a good-not-great year, and if the Bucs play it out with the same belief that they'll offer him more than anyone else, here's where Mayfield's moxie can become a problem for the Bucs: he could take less from another team, just to prove a point.
And the one team that should be ready to make a move is the Steelers, where Mayfield's mentality (and history with the Browns) would resonate with the fanbase in a big way.
If Mayfield goes, the Bucs would go back to the drawing board at quarterback. The other options currently on the roster are Jalon Daniels, Jake Browning, and Connor Bazelak.
So while it seems the Buccaneers have a plan, they need to account for the possibility that, if they make Mayfield play out the last year of his deal and don't tag him, he could go elsewhere for less money — just to prove a point. And, based on the potential zeal with which he's recruited, to embrace a team that truly wants him instead of a team that he may regard as being ambivalent about keeping him around.
Continue reading...
