July 20th, 2026
Plenty of blame to go around.
In the minds of many, last year, despite winning just two of the final nine games to finish out of the playoffs for the first time this decade, Baker Mayfield already proved himself.
These same folks want Mayfield to get paid. Like three months ago.
(While the Joe typing this here post is much more cautious and would prefer Mayfield bounces back this fall before putting a contract in front of him, Joe also realizes it is highly unlikely Mayfield won’t be the Bucs quarterback in 2027.)
So even if Mayfield is given a new contract before the season begins, Frank Schwab of Yahoo! is of the belief this season will still be a prove-it season for Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield wasn’t the only reason the Buccaneers went 2-7 in the second half of the season. It was a team-wide effort. But Mayfield’s play was much worse in the second half.
The offense as a whole was a mess, which is a reason the Buccaneers fired coordinator Josh Grizzard and replaced him with Zac Robinson. That might help. But Mayfield, who has had his share of ups and downs through his career, now has to prove that his 2024 career year was closer to his true level. Various injuries, most notably a left shoulder injury, likely affected Mayfield’s play last season. As did the lack of continuity around him due to teammates’ injuries through the season. Whatever the reason, the Buccaneers can’t afford to have Mayfield play like he did in the second half of last season.
As Schwab pointed out, the entire offense was a mess last year. What could go wrong went wrong, almost. Only two guys didn’t miss a start, Graham Barton and Mayfield.
If the Bucs can stay healthy on offense, it will go a long, long way into being more consistent through the season.
One thing known about Mayfield is there is zero doubt he won’t give the Bucs 110 percent each and every game.
But as we seen last year, the weekly supreme effort by Mayfield wasn’t enough. Both he and his offensive teammates need to somehow stay healthy and stay out of the tub.