What if…
Over the too-long offseason, everything Joe had heard both on and off the record, it seems highly unlikely that, barring injury, someone other than Baker Mayfield is your starting Bucs quarterback Week 1 in 2027.
But as we know, things can and have changed.
Because the Bucs couldn’t get a deal done with Mayfield before Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline of July 29, did that enrage Mayfield to the point that Mayfield might give the Bucs the finger and walk away come March?
There are a number of people out there who believe that. Joe does not, because Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has the franchise tag in his back pocket.
Many of the same people who think Mayfield would be perfect for Pittsburgh next season are bearish on the Bucs using the tag on Mayfield because that would tie up some $30 million of dead cap money.
Joe maintains if you really believe in Mayfield and you really think he is _the_ guy, then what’s $30 million in dead cap space? (Remember, the salary cap, short of a global pandemic, always goes up.)
But what if Mayfield walks? Dan Graziano of ESPN looks [at Licht’s options](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49659412/2027-nfl-quarterback-predictions-16-teams-starter-questions-free-agency-trades-draft).
> **Long-shot outcome:** After another down year, the Bucs and Mayfield agree to part ways. Tampa Bay finds itself once again in the market for a reasonably priced QB solution and looks to the draft or free agency. Maybe it takes a shot on someone such as Tyson Bagent or Tanner McKee. Maybe it tries someone such as Michael Penix Jr. if the Falcons are done with him. Maybe this is the team that takes Jalen Hurts off the Eagles’ hands or becomes Kyler Murray’s long-term landing spot.
Joe cannot imagine the Eagles washing their hands of Jalen Hurts. And Kyler Murray? If a quarterback guru like Kevin O’Connell gives up on him, why would Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht even want the guy?
At least with Mayfield, before he started bouncing around the NFL, led the woeful Browns to the playoffs and won a game. Murray hasn’t even sniffed a playoff game.
Still, Joe has no realistic reason to believe Mayfield will not be on the Bucs’ roster a year from now.