The Fit For Baker Mayfield
November 16th, 2023
Smooth transition.
The more Joe thinks about it, and the more Joe sees Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield play decent football, the more Joe thinks Mayfield is not a one-and-done guy in Tampa Bay.
Of course, a big factor for Mayfield’s stability in Tampa will be if Bucs coach Todd Bowles returns in 2024. He’s firmly in Mayfield’s corner. Naturally, Mayfield’s play will play a role, too.
Mayfield, you may remember, signed a one-year deal with the Bucs this spring for $4 million.
Yesterday, Mayfield was asked if he thinks he chose wisely in signing with the Bucs.
“Absolutely,” Mayfield said. “I’ve said it time and time again, and it’s not going to change, just the organization as a whole from when I came in – it has been really clear about what they want to get done and about where we’re headed, and as these games have gone, offensively for us, just about how we’ve grown within the system.
“It’s been, ‘This is where we want to be at and this is what we want to get done.’ When it’s clear and concise, I can fall in line no matter what.”
Looking good against the Titans is one thing. Looking good against the 49ers in their crib is quite another.
Interesting bit of background on 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan: his team is not a come-from-behind team. The 49ers are 7-32 when they trail at halftime and have lost 34 games in 6 1/2 seasons under Shanahan when they are down after three quarters.
November 16th, 2023 at 9:08 am
Here’s to rooting for the Bucs to make the playoffs!
November 16th, 2023 at 9:09 am
Mayfield is middle tier QB at best. If he stays in tampa I hope it’s for a contract equal to his skill and not in the $30 million range but more $15-20 with 2-3 years. Get a head coach who can develop a qb, draft someone with promise, have them learn behind mayfield. Get the Oline sorted then look at what you have with mayfield who we can see his ceiling with our current Oline but not with a good Oline. If the new qb is ready and mayfield is hurting the team then put the new qb in but only if we have an Oline. Look at Bryce Young, Zach Wilson, and Justin Fields to see what a new qb with a bad Oline gets you.
November 16th, 2023 at 9:10 am
Some titles and opening paragraphs for the Joes is like shaking a can of coke, opening it and knowing you won’t have to wait for the certain rush of air and fizzles to come rushing forth.
November 16th, 2023 at 9:26 am
Baker is not a top tier QB, but he is also not a bottom tier QB either.
He has won in the playoffs before. He is a QB that can win a championship with a roster and coach like the 49ers have.
November 16th, 2023 at 9:38 am
Baker is pretty good. He is not elite. He is not terrible.
If a really good QB were to fall to us it would be hard not to pull the trigger.
On the other hand, we need lots of other things too. First on that list is a win or a razor right game in SF. Hey, Bucs, get there a little early so you can see the city while it’s still spotlessly clean. The the only time you’ll be able to walk the streets without doing an Irish Jig to avoid the feces and needles.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:13 am
Who has Brad Johnson before the Super Bowl season?
November 16th, 2023 at 10:23 am
Sign mayfield to another one year or two at the max, team friendly deal if he’s willing then if Jayden daniels is still on the board when Tampa picks get him. Then get two olineman,OLB,RB,DB and WR
November 16th, 2023 at 10:38 am
He’s not Tom freaking Brady who ran the NFL particularly the Afc for 2 decades. But, Baker Mayfield is a football DUDE. With the lack of run game we don’t get to see just how efficient he is in the play action.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:41 am
Earth to Fred: When they kickoff in the 49r-Buc game they will be about 40 miles south in a city called Santa Clara. You would be lucky to live in Santa Clara. In fact, you would be lucky to live in S.F. as well. Even with all the needles and crap you think litter the streets.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:41 am
ocala Says: “Baker is not a top tier QB, but he is also not a bottom tier QB either.
He has won in the playoffs before.”
He’s won 1 playoff game. He’s 1-1 in the playoffs. Same as the great Tim Tebow.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:43 am
Richard… Brad led a great offense in Minnesota. He wasn’t Baker.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:43 am
Conner50 … Any chance we might also need a LB to replace Devin White? Or another to replace LVD? Maybe a Safety to pair with Winfield, assuming we can afford to re-sign him of course? How about a bonafide TE, maybe someone like Kelce or Kittle?
Perhaps we have a whole bunch of needs that’ll be pretty tough to satisfy in 1 draft; maybe not even in 2?
November 16th, 2023 at 10:44 am
If our DL, OL, TE, RB, DB all played at same level as this year’s Baker Mayfield we would have a way better record.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:50 am
Seattle Buc … ‘He’s won 1 playoff game. He’s 1-1 in the playoffs. Same as ‘the great Tim Tebow.’
You mean ‘the great Tim Tebow’ who has a career 8-6 record as Denver’s part-time QB over 2 years, sporting a 47.9% completion percentage? THAT ‘great Tim Tebow’? Of course the problem in Denver’s Mile-High Stadium is that there’s no air up there. Hard to pass when there’s no air.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:58 am
@Defense Rules
Little testy there, eh? Heard of sarcasm?
That said, I looked him up and Tebow did have a career 17 TD – 9 INT ratio, quite good, and a career 75.3 RTG, higher than Marc Sanchez’s career 73.2 RTG – who was the Jets’ starter when the Jets cut Tebow. Perspective.
November 16th, 2023 at 11:09 am
I think Mike Penix JR. would be a good fit for this offense too. Bigger arm, taller, faster, more mobile. Baker coming back, like Bowles coming back will all depend on our record at season’s end. Let’s have this conversation again in January.
November 16th, 2023 at 11:17 am
Baker is an undersized talent with a massive competitive streak. I like the Jeff Garcia comparisons. Imagine if we would have had Garcia at 28. Get a running game for him and LFG.
November 16th, 2023 at 11:31 am
if we had a running game maybe… but this should have always been a short term move to give the band one more ride… good teams rebuild and reload… outside of winfield and wirfs nobody is a must keep and i say that loving mike and LVD and what they’ve given us
November 16th, 2023 at 11:37 am
Seattle Buc…after reading your comparison of Baker Mayfield to Tim Tebow
I think you are right. They both have very similar playing styles. I can’t tell a difference between the two now.
November 16th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Paratrooper, I say you are wrong. Mayfield will be a top 10 QB if you have a top 10 team surrounding him. You post that good QB doesn’t do good with bad line. Why do you not put Mayfield on your list of what happens to a good QB with a bad o-line? Good o-line you get better run game. Better run game begets a better passing game. Team game my man. Mayfield is not the weak link in the offense.
November 16th, 2023 at 12:09 pm
Baker is in a weird tough spot for us. He isn’t the problem nor is he the solution. We could roll with him but we need to step up our game in lots of other places. Definitely need a top tier TE and running game.
November 16th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
@student of the game
I think you didn’t get my point so I’ll expand. I think Mayfield is good and i think he is a good leader but not a great qb (mahomes, Brady, burrows, etc.) I think he is better than grappolo and Carr. He has heart. I think we should keep mayfield and make it a team friendly contract as we need to rebuild. The Oline is bad and people saying it’s mayfield are blind or in denial. The GOAT couldn’t mKe that Oline better. People thinking drafting the number 1 pick next year will fix things are fooling themselves as no rookie qb will succeed with a bad Oline which is why I listed Bryce Young, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields as all are 1st round picks with horrible Olines. Mahomes or Burrows would struggle with our Oline. Team game right? Can’t be a good qb without a good Oline and receivers. We got the talent on receivers. Need the Oline. I would love for mayfield to be the guy for 5-8 years or a new younger franchise qb but that won’t happen until Oline is fixed and we have a better coach.
November 16th, 2023 at 12:31 pm
I think Baker has held his own, and to my knowledge, there aren’t any good QB’s floating around out there. Teams like to hang on to QB’s.
Drafting a successful QB, the success rate is what, 50/50? At best?
I won’t mention Trask. I think he’s a myth, like BigFoot. People talk about him, but no one ever sees him, lol
November 16th, 2023 at 12:47 pm
I would love to see Baker back for a few years. While yes we may all agree he is not elite he is definitely fringe top 10. There really are only 5 (if that) truly elite QBs in the league and a ton of bad ones why give up a good one? Compare Baker to the QBs we had to deal with before Tom and Baker could arguably be one of the best QBs we’ve ever had as crazy as it sounds. With a good draft and reloading the O-line and getting some more receiver depth, this team could compete in this division for years with the young stars we have like Wirfs, Vita, and Winfield.
November 16th, 2023 at 1:43 pm
He’s not the answer.
The ‘fit’ Baker is about to experience is Nick Bosa’s foot.
November 16th, 2023 at 1:50 pm
I like Baker Mayfield and I rooted for him the loudest when the Bucs signed him to play here in Tampa. However, watching him all season I must say that he is not consistent. He has his moments and then he makes some really boneheaded plays. Some of it might be the coaching staff, after all, Dave Canales is an unknown quantity and Bowles is a known loser. If Baker comes back, great, but not tagging behind Bowles. Bowles needs to go and the Glazers need to understand this. He is not a leader, nor does he have the chops to rebuild a team to take them for another run at the Superbowl. I hear that Bill Belichick might be available….hmmm, Tom Brady did light the path from New England to South Central Florida, so who knows. Go Bucs.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Defense Rules Says…
Re sign LVD to one year contracts till he’s toast and that ain’t this year or next from the looks of it. Behind him we have Dennis and Britt on rookie deals so I’m ok with that instead of paying White too much when he’s too inconsistent. And yea we have a lot more needs to fill but to much for one draft reality of it is we gotta roll with guys we have due to cap situations but we will be fine overall if we build them trenches. Licht absolutely has to re sign Winfield jr first thing first, wirfs second unless he would play on his fifth year. Then talk to Evans about re signing
November 16th, 2023 at 2:35 pm
Joe Says:
November 8th, 2023 at 1:36 pm
If you’re fine with below average, cool. Joe isn’t.
I guess Joe is fine with “below average” when it comes to the starting QB.
November 16th, 2023 at 2:47 pm
Top 10…you mean bottom 10, maybe bottom 5. Dude constantly misses open receivers, holding the ball too long making the line look worse than it is.
November 16th, 2023 at 3:04 pm
I definitely don’t want Baker Mayfield with us next year obviously I’m rooting for him because I’m a Tampa Bay fan but I don’t think he’s that good there are way better quarterbacks that could win us a lot more games
November 16th, 2023 at 4:01 pm
Just to keep it real, since coming out of college, when has Mayfield had good coaching or played for a good organization? Take his mop up duty in LA with McVay out of the picture last year and name one good to great OC he has played for and learned under. Name a good to great offensive-minded HC. Name an organization that he’s played for with a culture of winning (take away the Brady years and you have 15 straight years of ineptitude here).
Maybe, just maybe at 28 years old his “fresh start” is still something that’s viable? I was never a fan of his from afar and I bought the narrative that he was a prima donna and a big mouth. After seeing him here, he’s changed my mind 1000%.
If we get lucky and can draft a top QB prospect and keep our fingers crossed that he can play with the big boys, great. But re-signing Mayfield at his projected $16m/yr is a no-brainer unless you don’t mind going 3-14 next year (and possibly a few more years) while our new young stud is “developing”. And who exactly will be on the staff to develop him next year?
But wait….we still have Trask. He’ll get traded to a good team for another LB that we don’t need and go on to become Steve Young for someone else. It’s the Bucs way. Lol
November 16th, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Give this guy a running game and he’s gonna be okay.
Also if he stops missing wide open receivers on every play, he’ll also be okay.
The outlook is Baker 2024
November 16th, 2023 at 4:52 pm
In the last 10 years the only “average or middle tier” QB to win a championship was Nick Foles. (Carson Wentz) with the Eagles. The very TOP tier QBs are “required” to win a championship in todays NFL. Anybody that says anything different is not paying attention to the way the NFL offenses have evolved.
November 16th, 2023 at 7:18 pm
Everyone loves Trevor L in JAX
How many Bucs fans wish he was the Bucs Q?
Now check the stats….
November 16th, 2023 at 8:44 pm
Fred, the game is being played in Santa Clara, not San Francisco. While Santa Clara is still in California (bad enough), it’s better than being in S.F. itself. I live 4 hours away and travel to the area a couple times a year.
November 16th, 2023 at 9:26 pm
Baker is playing solid with no running game, in a new offense & OC, duct taped o-line….hes got good upside.
November 16th, 2023 at 10:35 pm
The Bucs cannot throw all their eggs in the basket for Mayfield, it’s waving the white flag. The Bucs have to find a better signal caller.
November 16th, 2023 at 11:15 pm
Plz go to QB stats 2023 baker stats wise is in the top tier the #tell facts to many jokers on this site spew opinions not up to date stat facts bakers stats rite now r as good as burrows,Herbert’s,hurts.just below mahomes. Not elite because he is only getting bout 20 pts per game so r all the other QBs in this friggin league so I wud say he qualifies in top tier that to me is elite
November 16th, 2023 at 11:18 pm
& he is 6’1″ 225 & he is a midget ok then so goeff is 6’3″ 225 & considered a towering giant u people r jokers
November 16th, 2023 at 11:21 pm
& mahomes is 6’3″ & 229 lbs just a giant next to Mayfield just towering over the defensive line while in action u haters r jokers
November 16th, 2023 at 11:25 pm
Rga how bout Zack Wilson or D.Watson maybe garroppolo.take u r pick he is not the signal caller u jackass canales is
November 17th, 2023 at 12:38 am
Baker needs shotgun play action passes. Not sure why they don’t try that more but he is so much better in that type of offense. I understand nfl is different than college but if they would open their offense to maybe 10-15 of those plays a game he would be so much better. He is good on the run and can see the field better and has the option to run which has proven to be a good option as well. It’s like teams get him and try to mold him into something he isn’t but never try what he is actually great at doing. Just a thought.
November 17th, 2023 at 1:36 am
Yeah, heII… Bring ‘em ALL back!!!! Bowels, Baker, Canales, ALL of ‘em!!!! I really hope they do, & then just prove how big of FOOLS they all are.
November 17th, 2023 at 5:50 am
Just let Baker be Baker, you will be very pleased with the results. Build a offense that compliments his style. Bnewton22 said it well. The teams that have had him wasted him. What they tried to do with him in Clevland was a travesty. They had him pulled in way to many directions. Coaches, players, owners, it was in shambles. It still is. Even with thier record right now. Look at the history there. The other teams never planned on using him as nothing but a stop gap. I feel that was Tampa bays same plan. Thing is, they actually see what he could be with the right support group. Some people compare him to Tebow. Heck, that’s ok. All Tebow ever did was win. May not have been pretty doing it. But was a born winner.
November 17th, 2023 at 7:15 am
@ocala
My point obviously went over your head. Allow me to help.
You said Mayfield “has won in the playoffs before,” implying multiple playoff wins. He actually has only 1 in 6 seasons.
Also, you and others here like to mention Mayfield’s “playoff experience” like it’s some great thing, when it’s not. A 1-1 playoff record in 6 seasons is actually worse than Tim Tebow’s playoff record of 1-1 in 3 seasons.
Facts.
November 17th, 2023 at 8:49 am
No Seatle Buc.
You are completely wrong about would I said. I said he has won in the playoffs. I did not imply anything other than he is a good enough QB to win a playoff game.
I like Baker and think he can win at a high level, but only with an incredible roster and good coaching like the Eagles or 49ers have.
In my opinion the Bucs have an above average roster with an awful coaching staff and Baker is not good enough to win a playoff game with the way the Bucs are currently constructed and with the existing coaching staff.
November 17th, 2023 at 12:03 pm
Mayfield is fine for what the Bucs are now, a struggling offense that doesn’t turn the ball over.
What we have seen so far is when we play teams with lower scoring offenses he keeps the games close.
Against great teams like Philly and Lions despite not being blown out we were never in a position to win.
Offense was pretty pathetic bs Atlanta, a mediocre team.
His upside isn’t any higher than what we have seen this year. Sure keep him around a little while but find an athletic quarterback with a good head on his shoulders and move forward with an offense for the next decade not the 1980s style offense the Bucs have been running. Such a boring Sunday watch on the offense.
November 17th, 2023 at 12:22 pm
Baker is a very good quarterback and you don’t let those guys out the door. He will only get better. You sign him to a multi year deal and continue to build around him.
November 17th, 2023 at 4:15 pm
Joe knows how to hook these Baker’s fans in to fill in his comments section on his blog.
Baker sucks. We are not even leading this sorry ass division after 10 weeks and here you are promoting Baker as Bucs next franchise qb in 2024.
Joe, we just came off of four weeks losing streak by beating up on busted Titans team.
Why don’t wait until Baker somehow beat 49’ers before you come up with this garbage article on baker today. Lol 😂
November 17th, 2023 at 4:22 pm
Joe,
I am so disappointed by reading this article.
You even said before that Baker goes wherever the Toilet Bowl goes.
No Toilet Bowl next year, no Baker at Bucs palace one. If that is the case how the Bucs are going to keep Baker without Toilet Bowl if Bucs they do not make the playoffs ?
November 18th, 2023 at 6:27 am
Mayfield will be a top 8 NFL QB this season. There is nothing “middling” about Baker. Regular season 2023 stats will look like this 30TD with 11-12 INT. Compare Mayfield early career to Drew Brees and Mayfield looks stronger. All this with constant coaching turmoil in Cleveland. Mayfield made one big career mistake with the Browns and that is he played the entire 2021 season with a serious injury. The thanks Mayfield got was to be sold down the river when the Browns signed DeShaun Watson. Mayfield could use a stable system. When Bucs finish 9-8 this year, he will be on his way. Bucs should never have lost to Houston. Unfair to blame Mayfield when all he could do was watch defense fold in final 45 seconds.