The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have enjoyed a steady rise from not being taken seriously when Baker Mayfield took over two years ago to now being considered a dark horse for the Super Bowl.
Granted, some are still waiting for Mayfield to fall off a cliff, but there is tangible evidence across the last two years that suggests the version of Baker we are seeing isn't going away anytime soon.
With the Buccaneers boasting one of the most well-rounded rosters in football, which has perhaps one of the best offenses in the league, Todd Bowles' team needs to be taken seriously.
And for Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox, the work Jason Licht and the front office have done to keep this team together is the reason for its Super Bowl credentials.
"Mayfield, Mike Evans, Tristan Wirfs and 2024 breakout back Bucky Irving were always going to be back for the coming season," Knox wrote. "However, Tampa also re-signed standouts like Chris Godwin and linebacker Lavonte David while adding new contributors like Haason Reddick and rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka.
"Licht has struck a brilliant balance between keeping players and adding new contributors through the draft. While there's no guarantee that Tampa will be better in 2025, it's highly unlikely to be worse. That's reason enough to believe the Bucs could be sleeper Super Bowl contenders."
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The ability to not only keep hold of the majority of the roster from last season, while also adding a couple of nice pieces to go with the projected improvement of several young players, the Buccaneers are very much in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt.
Of course, some are skeptical that Mayfield, who will be on his third coordinator in three years, won't be able to maintain his high standards, but let's not forget that Josh Grizzard was the passing game coordinator under Liam Coen last season, so that familiarity will be there.
The Buccaneers are in a weird spot. What they do in the regular season won't matter so much in 2025, because most have them in the playoffs and making a deep run.
The expectations haven't been higher for Mayfield and his team. Can they answer the challenge?