Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

As quarterback Baker Mayfield completed his third season as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback on the second year of a three-year deal, it became clear that there were zero intentions on either side for the veteran to play on a contract year for the upcoming season. Tampa Bay’s most recent ideas for a long-term deal appeared to be far under what Mayfield had been expecting, and according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, it seems health is a main factor why.

Over the course of the 2025 season, it became clear that, if an extension was going to get done, it wouldn’t come until the offseason. Ownership and the front office were all on board, and head coach Todd Bowles added his approval to the chorus yesterday.

When asked abut the progress of a new deal just over a week ago, though, Mayfield told reporters that he and the team were “not anywhere close” to an agreement. This comment came after some initial talks had taken place, and it seemed clear that the two sides will just need to continue working towards progress with no holdout likely on the table.

On its face, people might wonder how health can be considered a factor dragging down value for a quarterback who has started 51 of a possible 51 regular season games behind center since joining the Buccaneers. While that’s true, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Mayfield has been the picture of health. In fact, just last year, he suffered a shoulder sprain in his non-throwing should that limited him but didn’t hold him out. Following the injury, the team would go on to lose four of its last six games to just barely miss the playoffs. The year before saw Mayfield play through an Achilles injury suffered in a Week 13 matchup.

The team has Super Bowl aspirations, but that ultimate goal will be extremely difficult to attain if the driver of their offense continues to blow tires down crucial stretches of the season. The Buccaneers see it as an aspect of the game that Mayfield tends to neglect. His aggressive, sometimes ill-advised scrambles over the years will continue to have greater and greater effects on his health as he gets older each season. Bowles told the media that, while Mayfield “makes some great scrambles…understanding how to get down and putting himself out of harm’s way” will be crucial to the team’s success moving forward.

The two sides will have to continue to be open about these conversations in order to get their next ideas for an extension closer together. Per Stroud, Mayfield has reportedly set a deadline of the start of training camp to reach a new deal. If they can’t get it done by then, he does not intend to negotiate into the season. General manager Jason Licht isn’t worried about what that will mean for Mayfield’s in-season effort for the team, though. Mayfield has been in the position of having one year to earn his worth in the past, and it already led to an extension of his time in Tampa once before.

Set for his fourth season as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield is aiming for an extension. The veteran passer is signed for just one more season — on a team-friendly contract — and is attempting to apply pressure on the Bucs by indicating he will not continue contract discussions once training camp starts.

Mayfield is not expected to stage a holdout, but the ninth-year vet has made it clear he does not intend to conduct extension talks once he reports next month. Bucs GM Jason Licht has said he wants Mayfield to remain the team’s centerpiece player beyond 2026, and Todd Bowles doubled down by indicating (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) he has “absolutely no question” about wanting the current QB around for the long haul.

[RELATED: How Should Bucs Proceed With Mayfield?]

Licht’s view is probably more relevant to the team’s grand scheme than Bowles’, with the latter on the hot seat despite agreeing to an extension last year. The Bucs’ injury-accelerated tailspin last season led Bowles to fire offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard and bring in Zac Robinson, with Mayfield providing input that helped him reunite with his short-lived position coach (with the Rams). Robinson and Mayfield will play the lead roles in determining if Bowles is still calling the shots in 2027.

Mayfield has played out both his previous NFL contracts. The Browns traded him to the Panthers, and the teams agreed to split his fifth-year option; Mayfield accepted a pay cut to facilitate the move. Carolina waived Mayfield, leading to the short-term Los Angeles stay, and he caught on with Tampa Bay — on a one-year, $4MM deal — in 2023. After a bounce-back season with the Bucs, the former No. 1 overall pick did not re-sign until the eve of the 2024 legal tampering period.

The Bucs gave Mayfield a three-year, $100MM pact; that contract now resides at the bottom of the franchise-QB level. Although Tampa Bay showed its commitment to Mayfield by giving him a sizable guarantee increase for 2026 before the 2025 season, the QB market now has two $60MM-per-year players and 11 north of $50MM AAV. Patrick Mahomes‘ new Chiefs deal nearly doubles Mayfield’s per annum.

Sam Darnold undoubtedly used Mayfield’s AAV in his 2025 Seahawks negotiations, and Daniel Jones eclipsed it by a wide margin — ending up with a two-year, $88MM Colts deal following a transition tag — in March. Mayfield, 31, ranks 16th in quarterback AAV entering the season. Negotiating while still in his prime, Mayfield understandably wants to cash in on a midcareer resurgence.

The Bucs have shown a continued willingness to wait until free agency — or the winter period leading up to the market opening — to re-sign players rather than complete true extensions. Licht did not let Mayfield hit the market two years ago, but he was hours away from doing so. The veteran GM also re-signed Shaquil Barrett, Jamel Dean, Carlton Davis, Lavonte David (on multiple occasions) and Rob Gronkowski — among others — as free agents. Ryan Jensen (2022) preceded Mayfield in re-signing with the Bucs hours before a free agency period, while Mike Evans re-signed shortly before the QB in 2024. The Bucs made an attempt to re-sign Evans as a free agent this year but saw him opt for a change, via a three-year 49ers deal.

Tampa Bay did make exceptions to this riskier blueprint for Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tristan Wirfs. The team franchise-tagged Winfield before a 2024 extension and extended Wirfs in his ’24 contract year. Mayfield is pushing for this timeline, which the Bucs have reserved for high-priority players. The team also extended Tom Brady following Super Bowl LV, and his 2022 unretirement came when he was still contracted.

The Bucs would have the franchise tag available for Mayfield if no deal comes to pass by training camp, though the team has certainly taken its chances with many key free agents without unholstering the tag in the past. Tampa Bay does not have much of a history extending QBs, either. While the team gave Brady a one-year bump and re-signed Mayfield, its other long-term starters — Doug Williams, Vinny Testaverde, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Jameis Winston — did not agree on long-term second contracts, with no Bucs QB1 reaching Year 7 with the team (Dilfer’s rookie deal included a 1997 option that eventually pushed his stay to six seasons, but he left as a free agent in 2000).

Mayfield’s deadline reminds of Evans’ 2023 effort, though the decorated wideout set Week 1 of that season as his negotiating endpoint for that year (before re-signing in 2024). Tremendous interest would likely come Mayfield’s way as a free agent next year. If the QB sticks to his guns and does not negotiate during training camp, the Bucs have a pivotal stretch upcoming. If they do not reach a deal with Mayfield over the next six weeks, this will resemble a de facto franchise tag timeline in which negotiations pause until the following year.

Baker Mayfield has set a training camp deadline for a contract extension with the Buccaneers, but the two sides are far apart heading into June.

Despite the gap in asking and offering price, negotiations have not been “ugly,” per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though they are “relatively fresh and new.”

“It’s not like they have been talking for months and hit an impasse,” Fowler adds. “They just have to make some progress based on the initial talks.” 

Both sides have repeatedly expressed interest in coming to an agreement. The Buccaneers have been thoroughly rewarded for taking a shot on the former No. 1 overall pick back in 2023. He emerged as a high-end starter before playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2024. Injuries – to himself and several of his best teammates – hampered him last season, so there is reason to believe he can bounce back this year.

From Mayfield’s perspective, the Buccaneers resurrected his career after the Browns let him go in favor of Deshaun Watson. He then received a $100MM contract and a guaranteed starting job into his 30s, all while playing with the best skill position players (and arguably offensive line) of his career.

Mayfield is not likely to stage a holdout from mandatory minicamp, which starts on June 16, and his stated timeline indicates that the same is true for training camp.

But despite the 31-year-old quarterback’s interest in getting a deal done within the next six weeks, he and his camp have not sent a counter to the Bucs’ original offer, according to Rich Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. As always, it takes two to tango, but mutual interest in extending this partnership should get both sides to the negotiating table soon.

The clock is ticking on a contract extension for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Entering the last year of his deal, Mayfield told reporters on Friday that he and the team are “not anywhere close” to an agreement (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). Mayfield added that he has set a negotiating deadline for the start of training camp in late July.

“Would love to be here long term but as of right now that’s not exactly the case,” Mayfield said. “But I’m under contract for 2026. The guys in that locker room, the staff know that I’m still gonna be me. I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. To me that’s the priority. Everything else will take care of itself. “

Mayfield entered the NFL in 2018 with the Browns, who drafted the Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner first overall in a class that included four other first-round signal-callers: Sam Darnold (No. 3, Jets), Josh Allen (No. 7, Bills), Josh Rosen (No. 10, Cardinals) and Lamar Jackson (No. 32, Ravens). After an up-and-down four years with the Browns, Mayfield’s stock dropped further in a half-season in Carolina in 2022. The Panthers had both Mayfield and Darnold on their roster that year, but neither panned out for them. They waived Mayfield in late December, and he went on to finish the season with the Rams after they claimed him.

Mayfield’s performance improved in Los Angeles, where he made four starts filling in for an injured Matthew Stafford. However, with Stafford entrenched as the Rams’ top QB, it was obvious Mayfield would have to look elsewhere if he wanted a chance to start in 2023. That led him to Tampa Bay on a one-year, $8.5MM pact, which turned out to be a steal for general manager Jason Licht.

Mayfield beat out Kyle Trask for QB1 duties and went on to set career highs in completion percentage (64.3), yards (4,044) and touchdowns (28, against 10 interceptions) over 17 starts. He earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time and led the Buccaneers to a 9-8 record and an NFC South title. They crushed the Eagles in the wild-card round, 32-9, but bowed out the next week in a 31-23 loss to Detroit in the divisional round.

Convinced Mayfield was their answer under center, the Buccaneers prevented him from leaving in free agency with a three-year, $100MM extension in March 2024. Once again, he exceeded expectations in the first season of the accord. Although Mayfield tossed too many picks (16), he made up for it by establishing new career highs in completion rate (71.4), yards (4,500), TDs (41) and passer rating (106.8). Mayfield made his second straight Pro Bowl, and the Buccaneers went 10-7 on their way to another division title. However, they could not get past the Jayden Daniels-led Commanders in a 23-20 wild-card round loss at home.

The Buccaneers were the clear favorites to win the NFC South entering 2025, and it looked as if they would coast to the crown during a 6-2 start. Mayfield was drawing MVP hype then, but a slew of injuries took their toll on the team in the second half of the season. The Buccaneers lost seven of their last nine and finished 8-9, which tied the Panthers and the Falcons for the best record in a bad division. But the Bucs lost the tiebreaker to the Panthers, who represented the NFC South in the playoffs.

After Mayfield completed 63.2% of passes for 3,693 yards, 26 TDs and 11 picks during his third straight 17-start year in 2025, he will work with yet another new O-coordinator this season. The Buccaneers fired Josh Grizzard and replaced him with former Falcons OC Zac Robinson. He will be Mayfield’s fourth play caller in as many years in Tampa Bay, which had Dave Canales in place during the signal-caller’s first season there.

Licht made it known last summer that the Buccaneers wanted to extend Mayfield. While that still hasn’t happened, it remains a top priority for the team. Last July, the Buccaneers guaranteed $30MM of Mayfield’s $40MM salary for 2026. A new deal should come at a higher price, especially with the salary cap continuing to skyrocket. Eleven quarterbacks are averaging over $50MM per year. The leader, the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, is earning a league-high $60MM per annum.

Prescott was 31 years old when he signed his extension, a four-year, $240MM pact with $231MM in guarantees. Mayfield is the same age now as Prescott was when he re-upped with Dallas in September 2024. That doesn’t mean Mayfield will do as well on his next contract, but as someone who ranks just 16th at his position in AAV, a raise is clearly in order. Thanks to Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline, the Buccaneers are running out of time to make it happen.