As of the center of June, there isn’t a indication that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield are close to coming to phrases on a contract extension.
Mayfield stays within the last 12 months of his present deal. On Sunday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Instances advised that there could also be one huge purpose why the Buccaneers have not but matched Mayfield’s needs relating to an settlement.
Does Baker Mayfield “neglect” his well being throughout NFL seasons?
“The Bucs are involved about one component of his sport he continues to neglect: his well being,” Stroud mentioned. “Whereas Mayfield hasn’t missed any video games since becoming a member of the Bucs, he’s been slowed by accidents.”
Mayfield’s “UFC” playing style has sparked sports-talk discussions ever since he first entered the league as the primary total decide of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was dinged up within the latter parts of every of his first three seasons with Tampa Bay.
In January 2024, Mayfield was slowed by injured ribs and a sore ankle over a pair of playoff video games. He then handled a worrisome knee issue late within the following marketing campaign. Most lately, he suffered a major damage to his non-throwing shoulder in Week 12 final season that impacted his play because the Buccaneers went from 6-2 to 8-9.
“Final season,” Stroud wrote, “…Mayfeld went from a high MVP candidate after main the Bucs to a 6-2 begin to shedding seven of the ultimate 9 video games and lacking the playoffs.”
Have Buccaneers already made huge Baker Mayfield resolution?
Buccaneers basic supervisor Jason Licht lately insisted that “no one needs to see Baker go anyplace, and nobody’s anxious about how Baker’s mindset goes to be.” Licht might stop Mayfield from hitting the open market by retaining the signal-caller’s rights for 2027 by way of the franchise tag, however Professional Soccer Discuss’s Mike Florio hinted on Sunday that the membership does not plan to go down such a highway.
“Some assume the Bucs wouldn’t use the franchise tag; with a 2026 cap variety of $39.975M, Mayfield’s 2027 franchise tender could be no less than $47.97M,” Florio mentioned. “There’s a way in some circles that the Bucs consider they’ll finally provide him greater than anybody would in free company, if a brand new deal isn’t carried out earlier than Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline of the beginning of coaching camp.”
Coaching camp does not start till late July, so Mayfield and the Buccaneers nonetheless have loads of time to work one thing out earlier than this example might get a bit messy.
