Baker Mayfield News

Baker Mayfield signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday. Mayfield joins a depth chart that only includes one other quarterback, Kyle Trask, following Tom Brady's retirement. Mayfield started games for both the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams last season. His one-year deal is worth up to $8.5 million. In 12 games played last season, Mayfield completed 201 of 335 pass attempts for 2,163 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.

Initial reports don't specify the base value, guarantees or incentives, but whatever the case it's expected Mayfield will have a chance to compete for the starting job given Tampa's lack of cap space and premium draft picks. The other candidate, as of now, is 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask, who has nine career pass attempts to his name. Mayfield played somewhat better for the Rams late last season after tanking in Carolina during the first half of the year, but there's a large body of evidence suggesting he's no better than a bottom-end starter or high-end backup. The soon-to-be 28-year-old at least will have talented pass catchers in Tampa, unless the Bucs end up moving Chis Godwin or Mike Evans.

After a subpar start to his Panthers' tenure, Mayfield was let go and joined the struggling Rams. He burst onto the scene with an epic comeback win over the Raiders on Thursday Night Football, just days after signing a contract, and finished with a 63.6 completion percentage, 850 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions across five appearances with Los Angeles. Mayfield may be able to parlay his solid play into a starting gig in 2023, but he's presumably viewed as a short-term option for teams searching for their quarterback of the future. The Buccaneers currently have only two quarterbacks on their roster, Kyle Trask and Blaine Gabbert, but they figure to add more depth in free agency and through the draft as they attempt to move forward without Tom Brady.

Ian Rapoport reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are "expected" to target former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield when free agency opens later this week. Mayfield started the 2022 season as the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers before eventually ending up with the Rams by the end of the season. With Stafford (hopefully) returning for the 2023 season, the Rams did not re-sign Mayfield, but were able to help revitalize the former first-round pick's image across the league somewhat. Kyle Trask is the only quarterback currently under contract with the Bucs, so they should be expected to make some sort of move for another signal caller this offseason. Mayfield struggled mightily as the Panthers' starter to open the season, but did seems to find a bit more footing with the Rams, helping lead an injury-riddled squad to two victories over their final five games. He completed 63.5% of his passes with Los Angeles for 850 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.

Mayfield threw for fewer than 150 yards in three of five games with the Rams down the stretch and posted a 10:8 TD:INT in 12 appearances spread between Los Angeles and Carolina. The unrestricted free agent may have to settle for a backup job in 2023 after his underwhelming 2022 campaign.

Fresh off a near-perfect Christmas Day showing against the Broncos in Week 16, Mayfield turned in a lackluster showing much more reminiscent of his Week 15 performance against the Packers. The 2018 first overall pick is clearly just a stop-gap measure for the Rams to play out the string with, and he could be in for another tough afternoon in a Week 18 road clash versus an incentivized Seahawks team that boasts a stingy pass defense.