Baker Mayfield Gets Extra Credit
April 1st, 2025
GM Jason Licht speaks.
It seems the Bucs’ five consecutive trips to the playoffs — the longest NFC streak — is finally getting more noticed.
Kay Adams showered Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht with love for the feat during Licht’s sitdown this week on Up & Adams.
(Editor’s note: Those who watched the show on FanDuel TV saw Licht drenched in sweat during the chat as if he just mowed his lawn in July. Joe got to the bottom of what happened and Joe can assure fans it had nothing to do with Adams making Licht nervous or excited.)
Licht thanked Adams for acknowledging the Bucs’ string of success and interestingly jumped right into the talent on his roster. His focus was on Baker Mayfield.
“Baker’s phenomenal,” Licht said. “Baker, a lot of these players want to come back [in free agency] because of the culture; Todd does an amazing job. We have a great locker room, but they want to play with Baker, too.”
Joe is not surprised to hear Mayfield has been a factor in re-signing free agents like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, among many others. Players want to stick with Mayfield and the Bucs, but the cool thing is how they’re all seemingly taking less money.
If the Bucs were to add up the total of what players are turning down from other teams to stay in Tampa, Joe suspects that would be a huge number, one that makes Mayfield’s below-market-value salary of $30 million for this season even more unbelievable.
Damn, the Mayfield signing was ridiculously strong for so many reasons.
Joe talked to a very high-ranking executive with an NFL team last night at the NFL owners meetings and the guy lamented his team losing Mayfield.
Joe can’t share the details, but it sure made Joe wonder how many other teams are sad Mayfield left their building, and how many teams are furious they didn’t sign Mayfield when the Bucs got him on the roster for a paltry $4 million plus incentives.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:53 am
Hind sight is 20/20. Baker finally got it together and proved them all wrong. Even the haters
April 1st, 2025 at 11:55 am
Adam Schefter just tweeted Micah Parsons to the Bucs for a package of picks. More details to come soon.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:57 am
April Fools!
April 1st, 2025 at 11:58 am
People act like Mayfield was bad in Cleveland. He wasn’t, at all. Got hurt in his last year there and his performance suffered. Cleveland gave up on him for no good reason. And now they’re cap-strapped with the perv contract.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:06 pm
Yeah, dont think so. Jerry just offered to pay Parsons even more than Garret, wow. them and the Browns wont be in the playoffs anytime soon….too many “me first” players, and now they can barely afford the rest.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:06 pm
I knew Baker would be something here 🙂
April 1st, 2025 at 12:07 pm
Haha Capt Kidd, he would have got me. I was on my way to check.
That’s right Filthy Animal. Buried their franchise for another few years.
Imagine the Panthers offered to extend. Could have had DJ Moore and CMC to work with if those hadn’t happened yet.
Baker changed the trajectory of 3 teams, ours for the better.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:10 pm
Hey Gregory Rosenblum, keep saying Baker Mayfield can’t win a superbowl. Shout it from the roof tops, please🙏🏼
April 1st, 2025 at 12:45 pm
happy to have baker indeed….
now lets continue to run the ball and keep the TOs(turnovers for those who are slow) to a minimum this year baker!!!…we dont want to see you lead the league in INTs in back to back years!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 1st, 2025 at 12:47 pm
I was at Pizza Hut waiting for my order when I read the news. He was who I was hoping we would sign. I knew he would either play lights out and revive his career or bomb and get us a high draft pick. Nothing in between. Turned out to be great after all.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:54 pm
$30mm in Florida is like $33mm with out the state income tax. This is the rough breakdown based on single household income married at $30mm per year:
Fed 36.15% $10,845,000
FICA 2.93% $ 885,000
Total $11,730,000
Net income $18,270,000
If Fl Income tax 9% $2.7mm added tax 9% is the national average for state taxes.
April 1st, 2025 at 1:01 pm
The Bowles and Baker haters are all doubling over in agony.
April 1st, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I agree with filthy animal. And i would add that Baker has matured as well. His coming to jesus has made all the difference in the world; as it should. We put so much emphasis on ability in this sport, yet how many “toxic” players do we know with all the ability in the world? Locker room killers. I’ve said it before: this team shows real class.
April 1st, 2025 at 1:28 pm
As long as Baker is #1 in completion percentage in the 70’s and everyone else is in the 50’s and 60’s and #2 in passer rating at 108.1 we’ll be A-OK. Interceptions are gonna happen, especially when you sling the ball almost 600 times.
What was that article that involved Baker, Joe Burrow, Drew Brees and Aaron Roger’s? It was the QB’s that threw for 40 plus touchdowns and had a completion percentage of 70% and above. That’s pretty good company to be in. 🤔
April 1st, 2025 at 1:35 pm
Interceptions, ok. But Baker had the 2nd most COMPLETIONS of any NFL QB in 2024
LFG!!!!
April 1st, 2025 at 1:54 pm
Per pass BM is 29th or 4th in interceptions not the leader. There is not many QB’s that threw the ball as much as BM.
April 1st, 2025 at 2:31 pm
We definitely can believe that other teams are sorry to have let Baker go. Especially the Browns. Read the article posted on “Cup of Joe” this morning about how the owner now agrees it was an error to sign Watson. Their loss. Baker was the best pick for our QB after Brady. He is awesome.
April 1st, 2025 at 3:33 pm
Over the 5 year span the Bucs went 51-33 while the rest of the Division went 99-153. Only Division that was worse was the AFC South.
Average points per game in the NFCS that same 5 years was 27 which makes the 29.5 scored last season look not so great.
Plump Chicks look like Gisele when they stand on the fat side of the room. Bucs look pretty good sitting in the NFCS.
Bucs would have been fighting the Bears for the bottom in the NFCN and would not have taken it from the Rams or Eagles in their Division. Location as they say is everything and the Bucs have been fortunate to where they are lately.
11-5 and 13-4 the first two years with Brady looks pretty good and then he was washed and finished 8-9 with starters resting the final week.
Now that Mayfield has had two seasons at the helm it looks like he is capable of getting the Bucs to right around .500. That’s comparable to accomplishing what a 43 year old man, who has finally had it with a heart no longer in the game did in 2022.
Folks say Lil B is a Drew Brees. I don’t know about that but i wouldn’t say he’s nor a 2022 Brady. HOF get that 48 Short Jacket ready.
April 1st, 2025 at 3:57 pm
Fan of the south, do u think our defense lost any games for us in 2024?
April 1st, 2025 at 4:35 pm
Purplebeard — right on. The Bucs averaged 29.5 points/game in ’24 — excellent by any measure. So many games lost because defense (notwithstanding effort) simply couldn’t achieve stops. Given the current emphasis on defense approaching the draft, we have to be excited. With a good O already established, a material improvement in defense will lead to a great outcome in 2025.
Go Bucs!
April 1st, 2025 at 5:36 pm
Didnt we beat the superbowl champs 33-16 last year and took the other team that went to the superbowl to OT and should have beaten them if we would have only went for 2 that rainy Monday night in KC?? And some want to complain about how things are going with Baker at quarterback. If we can stop a few dumb mistakes and improve the defense, we will be very very hard to beat in 2025. And it looks like the defense is going to be improved. Next year we will be the team to beat. We will be the team everybody fears to play. If we stay healthy with our linemen, our runningbacks, our receivers and with our quarterback we will dominate and score at will. We will be there ready to go come playoff time. Baker and the boys will shut all the experts up.Mark it down 💰
April 1st, 2025 at 6:42 pm
Haven’t you heard Fan of the South? Our QB has the most TD passes in the NFL the last two years- his first two years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Surely you read? I’m sure it’s been reported all over the local media. Hell, it’s been all over the National media! Wait until you see the next contract he’s offered! It’ll be the biggest in the history of this franchise. By far! Come on Fan of the South, all this franchise needed was the right QB. And we got him! Evans, Godwin, Wirfs- even LaVonte have benefited from having Baker! Baker is working his ass off to make himself a place on this team. And all you can do is knock him?
April 1st, 2025 at 11:57 pm
By the lack of comments on BM it shows the haters have pretty much given up and BM has proved them wrong. Finally
April 3rd, 2025 at 12:22 am
😂