Evaluating quarterbacks is simple for Joe. There are the QBs with enough talent, consistency and poise to win a Super Bowl — and then there’s everyone else.
That’s why Joe broke 11 windows when the Bucs announced Josh McCown would be their starter in 2014, months before opening day.
Joe still maintains Team Glazer should refund all season tickets for that season, which ended with Tampa Bay intentionally tanking at home against a division rival after losing every prior home game.
What a sadistic Bucs management team it was back then. (At least training camp was free and open to the masses).
Nowadays, the Bucs no longer have problems associated with miserable teams. They’re a first-class franchise with the sixth-best quarterback in the NFL.
Yes, Baker Mayfield ranks at No. 6. That’s what Bucs icon Rondé Barber firmly explained recently on The Rondé Barber Show.
Per Barber, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen belong in their own tier, “your MVPs, perennial MVPs.” After that, per Barber, it’s Washington QB Jayden Daniels followed by Mayfield.
Mayfield “definitely” is better than Jordan Love, Barber says, but “give it a couple of years.” Mayfield also is better than C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford and Tua, Barber continued.
And while Barber paused when he got to Jalen Hurts, Barber still went with Mayfield, calling him a better “pure quarterback” and a better “winner.”
A better winner? “He’s beat him twice,” Barber said of Mayfield’s head-to-head games against the Eagles and Hurts.
Joe is unaware of Barber’s preferred flavor of Kool-Aid, but Joe would love a little on ice.
As for the 2025 season, Barber said he sees no hiccup coming for the Bucs’ high-octane offense.
“You got a new offensive coordinator in here but I don’t think it changes much at all,” Barber said. “… and I don’t see why [Baker] doesn’t have the same type production.
“I mean, it’s not like Baker’s getting old, man. Baker’s still has a lot of exuberance to his play, in his demeanor. I can see another 4,000-plus [yards passing], 40-touchdown year for him.”