1. Baker Mayfield Holds All the Leverage
Following up a Cleveland Browns quarterback situation with a former Browns quarterback just feels right. After all, Baker Mayfield was the last quarterback to have the Browns in the NFL Playoffs. Either way, fate found Mayfield in Tampa Bay, where the outspoken signal-caller finds himself in the final year of his contract and unhappy with the Buccaneers’ attempts to strike a new deal.
Buccaneers brass are reportedly not happy with Mayfield’s candor, especially after offering a two-year deal worth approximately $100 million.
There’s an argument Baker Mayfield shouldn’t be airing out the team’s dirty laundry to the media. Conversely, political correctness is not Mayfield’s style. Never has been and never will be. Mayfield has always been a maverick on an off the field. It’s no figure the former Heisman Trophy winner named his son Maverick. Mayfield has always conducted himself with a certain level of brash cockiness that makes him one of the most entertaining quarterbacks to watch.
We saw the throat-slashing and crotch-grabbing antics when Baker Mayfield played at Oklahoma and the Buccaneers knew who they were getting when they signed him to fill the void left by Tom Brady’s retirement in 2023.
My guess is Tampa Bay an Mayfield work out a deal before the close of the 2026 season. Indeed, there’s happy medium between Mayfield’s desire for a long-term commitment and the Buccaneers’ hesitation to go too far into a 31-year-old quarterback with two career playoff wins. However, over the last decade, only two quarterbacks have led the Tampa Buccaneers to the playoffs: Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield. Over the last 20 years, only Brady and Mayfield have led the Buccaneers to playoff wins.
Baker Mayfield has spent his entire career betting on himself. Every stop has reinforced the same lesson: when people doubt him, he usually plays his best football. The Buccaneers may not love him negotiating through the media, but they knew exactly who Baker Mayfield was when they signed him. Nothing about this should surprise them.
Tampa Bay may not appreciate Mayfield negotiating through the media, but quarterbacks who win playoff games don’t grow on trees. The Buccaneers know it, and so does Baker.
Final Whistle
Training camp has always been football’s season of overreaction. Every catch becomes a breakout. Every drop becomes a bust. Every injury becomes a crisis. Somewhere between the hype and the hysteria is the truth, and that’s where the regular season eventually finds us.
Until then, enjoy the chaos.
The 12th Opinion 
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