As of the middle of June, there is no indication that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield are close to coming to terms on a contract extension.
Mayfield remains in the final year of his existing deal. On Sunday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times suggested that there may be one big reason why the Buccaneers haven’t yet matched Mayfield’s wishes regarding an agreement.
Does Baker Mayfield “neglect” his health during NFL seasons?
“The Bucs are concerned about one element of his game he continues to neglect: his health,” Stroud said. “While Mayfield hasn’t missed any games since joining the Bucs, he’s been slowed by injuries.”
Mayfield’s “UFC” playing style has sparked sports-talk discussions ever since he first entered the league as the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was dinged up in the latter portions of each 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 games. He then dealt with a worrisome knee issue late in the following campaign. Most recently, he suffered a significant injury to his non-throwing shoulder in Week 12 last season that impacted his play as the Buccaneers went from 6-2 to 8-9.
“Last season,” Stroud wrote, “…Mayfeld went from a top MVP candidate after leading the Bucs to a 6-2 start to losing seven of the final nine games and missing the playoffs.”
Have Buccaneers already made big Baker Mayfield decision?
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht recently insisted that “no one wants to see Baker go anywhere, and no one’s worried about how Baker’s mindset is going to be.” Licht could prevent Mayfield from hitting the open market by retaining the signal-caller’s rights for 2027 via the franchise tag, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio hinted on Sunday that the club doesn’t plan to go down such a road.
“Some think the Bucs wouldn’t use the franchise tag; with a 2026 cap number of $39.975M, Mayfield’s 2027 franchise tender would be at least $47.97M,” Florio said. “There’s a sense in some circles that the Bucs believe they’ll ultimately offer him more than anyone would in free agency, if a new deal isn’t done before Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp.”
Training camp doesn’t begin until late July, so Mayfield and the Buccaneers still have plenty of time to work something out before this situation could get a bit messy.