The Buccaneers find themselves in an intriguing position with quarterback Baker Mayfield as he heads into the final year of his contract with their general manager making a statement on their future
08:29 ET, 01 Apr 2026
New England Patriots v Tampa Bay Buccaneers - NFL 2025
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Baker Mayfield's future has become clearer(Image: Getty)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers do not appear to be interesting in letting Baker Mayfield leave anytime soon despite the quarterback heading into his final year of his contract.
It comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Buccaneers have not already extended Mayfield, where they could have significantly lowered his salary cap heading into the offseason in order to spend more more in free agency. Some believed that could have pointed to an exit after this year, following a disappointing season in 2025.
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Tampa Bay has had an intriguing offseason, allowing superstar Mike Evans to leave, along with Jamel Dean signing elsewhere and Lavonte David retiring. The Buccaneers could be looking at somewhat of a rebuild, leading to rumors that they could move on from Mayfield.
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But general manager Jason Licht has suggested that this will not be happening, hoping to sort an extension for him soon.
Licht said: "Baker is still our quarterback. He’s one of the toughest guys on the team. He’s a great leader. Everything kind of revolves around the quarterback spot. At some point, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. There’s no timetable on that.”
Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walks off the field after winning the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on January 3, 2026 in Tampa, Florida
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After a strong start to the 2025 NFL Season, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faltered, missing the playoffs entirely(Image: Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
The Buccaneers lost eight of their last 10 games of the season to miss out on the playoffs, with their offense notably struggling in the second half of the season.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror US Sports a few weeks ago, Mayfield pinpointed where he thinks things fell apart for the team.
He said: “When you have confidence and momentum, it goes a long way — especially in the type of ball games we were in early in the year. We were just executing well, and so I think forward, the injuries do play a factor.
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Jason Licht has suggested the team will extend Mayfield soon
“Still, it comes down to executing in the critical moments, and we just weren't doing that later in the year. Sometimes, you don't have that momentum or confidence. It's frustrating.
“Any little bad thing toward the end of the year, guys are like, ‘Well, not this again’ instead of being like, ‘Alright, no, we're gonna make it work, doesn't matter, next play’. That comes down to me, being able to instill that confidence and drive the belief into the guys.”
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Mayfield will look to lean on his two young offensive weapons in Emeka Egbuka and Bucky Irving moving forward since Evans left for the San Francisco 49ers.
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