There is no position in the NFL more important than the starting quarterback.

With the rare exception of the San Francisco 49ers, great quarterback play is often the only way a team can be successful in this league. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have experienced the crazy highs and lows of this plenty over the past decade alone.

Baker Mayfield was always a bit of a gamble for a team that was looking to fill the void created by the departure of Tom Brady. However, the Bucs got one of the best returns on investment of any player in the entire NFL, and Mayfield has made his future extremely clear in Tampa.

Mayfield and his Bucs have experienced an overall mixed bag this season. There have been some very good games (see the win over the Packers) but also some very bad ones that create question marks about several players and the coaching staff.

However, throughout all of this, Mayfield has looked like a fringe top-12 quarterback and has done all of it on a deal right around $4 million in base salary.

Despite getting paid like a backup, Mayfield is currently 13th in the NFL with 3,315 passing yards, tied for fifth in the league in passing touchdowns with 24, and has done it on 63.5% passing with just eight interceptions.

In addition to his passing stats, which are impressive in their own right, Mayfield has generally been a decent runner on key downs with this looking like his best-career year in rushing yards-an important trait in the modern NFL.

Baker Mayfield has accomplished all of this with the weakest roster and coaching staff that the Bucs have had over the last several years and has been one of the only consistent parts of a team that had every reason to take a nosedive this season.

In fact, Mayfield and his Bucs have generally looked better on offense that Tom Brady and Tampa did last year, and that should be enough to force the Buccaneers to extend Mayfield.

Given the importance of the position and how well Mayfield has played under the circumstances, the Buccaneers have no choice but to offer their current starting quarterback an extension.

Mayfield has played well enough to keep the Bucs far away from the game-changing quarterbacks that will come off the board in the early first round, and a quarterback that is good enough to sit at fringe top-12 in most important categories is a guy worth keeping around if the contract is right.

Baker Mayfield has done everything needed and more to get the Buccaneers to their current position. He is going to get an extension offer, it is just more a matter of when rather than if. Tampa would probably be wise to get that locked up before they get priced out of the market.

Pressure mounts for the Buccaneers in Week 14

This is about as must-win as a game can get.