The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their quarterback, and unlike the Cleveland Browns, the Bucs are committing long-term to Baker Mayfield. While they haven’t finalized a deal yet, Bucs GM Jason Licht said he’d love for Mayfield to be their quarterback for a long time, per a story on Pro Fooball Talk. It’s the type of support that not only should front offices give, but that might propel Mayfield to have another career season.
In 2024, he had a career year, throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns while leading the Bucs to the playoffs. They couldn’t have asked for a better player to fill in after Tom Brady retired. The fact that the Bucs are interested in keeping him long-term is a good sign too. Several teams gave up on Mayfield and now he’s finally got a team that believes in him.
Baker Mayfield’s 2025 season will be proof why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers believe in him
This will be a critical season for Mayfield. Last time he was in contract talks for a long-term extension, Cleveland hung over his head the fact that he had a miserable year while playing injured. Leading the team to the playoffs wasn’t enough and they ultimately wound up downgrading, opting for Deshaun Watson instead of Mayfield in a disastrous move.
For all of the 2022 season, Mayfield hopped around a couple teams but looked far from what he does now. The Bucs believed in him and though he’s under contract through 2026, the fact that they are thinking about bringing him back on a long-term deal is a great sign.
Mayfield is proof that it’s worth taking a chance on players that have upside. And he’s proof he just needs a team to believe in him. Last time he was in a situation similar to this was in Cleveland. They didn’t believe in him. He didn’t start playing well again until he got belief from the team around him.
Now he has all the motivation to have another career season. If he has another standout year, expect him to get a lucrative deal that will give Tampa Bay all the faith they need to know they have the right guy.