This post has nothing to do with the Sunshine Skyway or the Buccaneers defense. Don’t go there.
It’s about Baker Mayfield being a true franchise quarterback. That was the assertion on NFL Network from longtime scribe Judy Battista, and she got no disagreement from fellow NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.
Mayfield wants a contract extension and he’s not going to be paid like a “bridge” QB, Battista noted. He’s the guy. (For those unaware, Battista wrote a big feature on Todd Bowles when the Bucs made him head coach, even quoting Bill Parcells calling Bowles “one of my homeboys.”)
Joe heard Mayfield being pronounced as a “franchise QB” and started thinking about Team Glazer. If they believe Mayfield is “the guy,” then they’re not going to allow him to walk out the door of One Buc Palace after the 2026 season.
Team Glazer can stop Mayfield with the franchise tag, if it comes to that.
It was three months ago when former Bucs QB Chris Simms, a man who watched the December meltdown against the Falcons in the Team Glazer suite, declared his confidence that Bucs owners and Mayfield would get a contract done.
Now, Joe wonders if Simms’ take included a touch of behind-the-scenes intel.
“I would think they’re going to find the sweet spot [for a contract extension] here,” Simms said. “It’s just about what is that number — what makes sense for where Baker Mayfield is in his career.
“He’s a damn good player. He gives your team an edge. He gives your team an, ‘oooh, the Bucs are on. It’s Baker? Let me watch them.’ Because Baker’s going to go for it. He doesn’t play the politics of the sport. He goes for it. He is trying to win. He’s trying to throw lasers. And he’s one of the more explosive quarterbacks in football in the pocket because of his frame of mind and his big right arm.
“You know me. I love the Bucs and I’m hoping the Glazers and [Bucs GM] Jason Licht reward him.”
As Joe has noted, Joe would be stunned if Mayfield is not the 2027 Bucs quarterback. However, Joe didn’t expect Mike Evans join the 49ers at roughly half the take-home pay he would have received in the comforting and catering confines of One Buc Palace.
Joe wonders how motivated Team Glazer is — or is not — to soothe fans by extending Mayfield’s contract this summer.
After not granting fans’ collective wish to launch Todd Bowles after last season, perhaps ownership is more interested in stability than ever before.