Divisonal round win could cement Mayfield as Bucs QB of the future
Baker Mayfield can seal the deal as the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a win on the road over the Detroit Lions. Mayfield is coming off a huge performance in a wild-card round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Mayfield completed 61% of his passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Currently, […]
Baker Mayfield can seal the deal as the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a win on the road over the Detroit Lions.
Mayfield is coming off a huge performance in a wild-card round victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Mayfield completed 61% of his passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Currently, Mayfield is playing on a one-year deal. The expectations were low for Mayfield in his first season with the Bucs. He was viewed as a bridge connecting the franchise to a top-5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The veteran signal-caller had other plans.
Mayfield put together a strong 2023 NFL season, ranking top ten in passing yards, touchdowns, and passer rating. The former first-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft finished the regular season relatively strong, lifting the team to win five out of his last six games. In his last four regular season games, he threw for 1,110 yards, averaging 277.5 per game, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions.
He is protecting the football more this season. Mayfield has that confidence and swagger back with infectious energy. He is playing loose and free football.
Buccaneers center Ryan Hainsey feels similarly.
Projecting a new deal for Mayfield
Yesterday, two of my colleagues Josh Queipo and Kyle Dediminicantanio wrote a piece projecting a new contract for Mayfield with the Buccaneers. You can give it a read.
If the Buccaneers desire to give Mayfield a multi-year contract, our guys believe the numbers could exceed three years, $82 million with over $32 million in guaranteed money.
This would be a good deal from a per-year standpoint. The question becomes, if he knocks off the Detroit Lions on the road to advance to the NFC Championship Game, how much competition could the Buccaneers have for his services, and could those numbers potentially increase?
It would be difficult to tell the fan base that the team will not pay Mayfield due to contract demands after the type of season he has had.
Walking into the Lions' den
If you recall, Mayfield and the Buccaneers faced the Lions earlier this season. The Week 6 matchup did not favor the Buccaneers in the slightest.
Everyone on the team struggled as the Lions won 20-6 and convincing fashion. In that game, Mayfield went 19-37 for 206 passing yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. Lions' QB Jared Goff had his way with the Buccaneers' defense. He was 30-44 for 353 yards and two touchdowns. This happened in Tampa Bay.
Mayfield and the Bucs have to travel into the Lions' den to advance to his first-ever championship game. If he can replicate his performance from last week versus the Eagles, Mayfield will have earned his team trip to the NFC title game. However, he'll also have earned himself a sizeable contract from the Buccaneers or otherwise. These are the types of games and moments that can change the trajectory of a player's career. That could prove to be the case for Mayfield.
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Tampa Bay is in good shape injury wise heading to Detroit
