Baker Mayfield TampaBay Buccaneers QB Just Announced His Departure

Quarterback Baker Mayfield is headed toward his second trip to free agency in as many years after it was revealed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to use their franchise tag to keep defender Antoine Winfield Jr.

In 2023, Mayfield surprised everyone by leading the Bucs to a 9-8 record, the NFC South title, and a wild-card round upset of the Philadelphia Eagles, the reigning NFC champion. In the process, he produced a career-best season, completing 64.3 percent of his throws for over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions, the fewest in any of his six NFL seasons.

After the team’s loss to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional round, Mayfield hinted that he would like to stay in Tampa Bay, saying it “would mean a lot” to rejoin with the other important free agents. However, at the beginning of the 2024 season, he very well may find himself playing for his fifth team in four years.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that league sources estimate a contract offer for Mayfield that would be acceptable would be in the neighborhood of $75 million spread over three years. For a quarterback who has shown he can lead a team to the postseason and who may end up being one of the most sought-after free agents of the offseason, it’s a reasonable price.

In light of this, the best places for Mayfield to land if he decides to test the market this spring are listed below.

The deal for Russell Wilson and the massive contract extension the Denver Broncos gave him proved to be an absolute disaster. Since acquiring the quarterback, Denver has been severely limited in its access to draft picks and cap space, and the team hasn’t had the same degree of success that the Seattle Seahawks did while the nine-time Pro Bowler was in charge of their offense.

After Wilson struggled through his first 30 starts, going just 11-19, and even being benched at the conclusion of the previous year, it is well past due for Denver to own up to its monumental error, cut its losses, and find a new quarterback before 2024.

While there have been rumors that Wilson would return to Denver on a revised contract, the front management of the team would be better served to swallow the agonizing dead money that comes with parting ways with the signal-caller and move on. Despite facing financial difficulties for the next season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed to make it to the final eight teams in 2023 despite having $75 million in dead money.

Tampa’s success was mostly due to Baker Mayfield. On a one-year contract with minimal fixed funds of $4 million and incentives of up to $8.5 million, he delivered tremendous value. Even though Mayfield’s next contract is expected to pay him significantly more, he will still be among the less expensive and more experienced starting quarterbacks on the free agent market this spring.

The Broncos have a genuine shot to snap their eight-year postseason drought if Denver’s brass can fit a market-value deal for Mayfield into the books. However, doing so will require some financial magic (the team is currently worryingly over the cap).

Remember that head coach Sean Payton signed Drew Brees as a free agent in 2006, and the New Orleans Saints enjoyed historic success under his leadership? Payton might lure Mayfield to the Mile High City and follow the same route. Given that his other available free agents are either too expensive (Kirk Cousins), too elderly and prone to injuries (Ryan Tannehill), or too defective (Jameis Winston), Mayfield offers this struggling team a great medium ground.

Although there have been rumors that Payton wants to select a quarterback prospect higher than No. 12 overall in the next draft, doing so would most likely be a significant financial hit for Denver given their already limited resources. The Broncos could use their limited six selections to address other needs and create a more well-rounded team for 2024 if they just signed Mayfield.