Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp is underway, and Baker Mayfield appears to have cut off contract negotiations with the team. That may not be good news for the Bucs, considering the man General Manager Jason Licht called his franchise quarterback is heading into a contract year.
Now, a former NFL player is calling upon the Buccaneers to just pay the former No. 1 overall pick already.
Ex-NFLer Tells Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Pay Baker Mayfield
The Buccaneers don’t have much of a future plan in place should they move on from Mayfield next offseason.
Though aside from failing to reach an extension, the Bucs have given no indication that they are thinking about parting ways. Plus, the franchise tag is always available as a way to buy them one more year to evaluate their quarterback position.
Meanwhile, former NFL offensive tackle Taylor Lewan stated his opinion via the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast that the Bucs need to step up and pay the two-time Pro Bowl QB already.
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“You need the head of the snake in order to function at 100%,” Lewan said. “If you have one guy who’s getting in his opinion [expletive], he’s feeling some type of way towards the Buccaneers. He is going to be a good leader… But everyone’s going to know if you pull him into a corner and you’re like, ‘How do we feel?” He’s going to be pissed off at the situation.’
“But when it comes to the quarterback, it’s like take care of your No. 1 guy first, and then it’s on Baker to kind of go towards the Kirk Cousins role of how we structure this contract so we can trickle down for everybody else. So there’s a bit of a yin and a yang taking place.
“I always lean on the fact that let’s pay our boy, let’s get our boy paid, and make sure we have continuity of this team, this franchise, so we feel really good about it.”
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Mayfield has proven to be all about football, no matter what is going on off the field. Yet, as Lewan stressed, teams may be able to manage contract disputes at other positions, but not at quarterback.
Mayfield finished last season with 3,693 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions across 17 games. According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, he posted an impact score of 74.4, ranking 22nd in the league.
It was a big drop off from his 2024 season performance, during which he posted an impact score of 86.1 and ranked fourth in the league.
For now, the Buccaneers haven’t been willing to meet Mayfield’s demands. At this point, the front office appears intent on waiting to see what a highly motivated Mayfield delivers on the field in 2026.
