According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers have evaluated Browns QB Baker Mayfield in case he should become available via trade (Twitter link). The Bucs are reportedly still part of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, though they could be battling a host of other teams, including the Browns, for his services.
Mayfield’s future in Cleveland is uncertain at the moment. While the club has publicly committed to him as its starting signal-caller for 2022, no extension talks will take place this offseason. As such, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft is scheduled to play out the upcoming campaign on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, worth a fully-guaranteed $18.9MM.
Cleveland’s reluctance to authorize a long-term accord for Mayfield is understandable. After a promising showing as a rookie, the Oklahoma product — along with the rest of the offense — took a major step back during Freddie Kitchen‘s only season as head coach in 2019. Everything was looking rosy for all involved in 2020, Kevin Stefanski‘s first year at the helm, which saw Mayfield post a top-10 QBR en route to a divisional round appearance.
However, the Browns regressed again in 2021, compiling an 8-9 record and failing to make it back to the playoffs. For his part, Mayfield struggled through a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder and finished near the bottom of the league in terms of QBR and quarterback rating, so of his four professional seasons, two of them can be fairly classified as major disappointments.
If Cleveland is able to acquire Watson, Mayfield would land squarely on the trade block (unless, of course, he heads to the Texans as part of the Watson deal). Assuming the Bucs like what they have seen on film, they could then make a push for Mayfield to fill the void left by Tom Brady, provided Brady doesn’t reverse course and decide to suit up for Bruce Arians for one more season.
Stroud’s report suggests that the evaluation Tampa Bay has done is more due diligence than anything else. Indeed, it’s unclear if Watson would waive his no-trade clause for the Browns — ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin believes that he would not (Twitter link) — and it presently seems as if any other veteran passer that Cleveland might acquire this offseason (like Marcus Mariota or Mitchell Trubisky) would be brought in as competition for Mayfield, not as a replacement.
Still, it’s yet another indication that the Bucs have every intention of competing in 2022 and adding a legitimate starter to a QB room that currently features only 2021 second-rounder Kyle Trask.
