The contract hits keep coming for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. First, star defensive tackle Vita Vea requested a trade due to no movement on his contract status. Now, Jenna Laine and Jeremy Fowler from ESPN report out of Buccaneers training camp that Baker Mayfield and the team are nowhere close to a deal.
Laine does not expect a deal to get done before training camp starts.
“Sources told ESPN that Mayfield and his agent have not made significant progress with the Bucs on a new contract,” Laine wrote. “A deal is largely not expected by the start of the Bucs’ first camp practice on July 29, but there is still time to sort through it and potentially reach a deal, sources added.”
While Mayfield and his camp likely want a deal done sooner and not later, the Bucs do have a history of letting contract talks drag into the summer.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield Remain Far Away From a Contract
GettyThe Buccaneers do not want to put all of their eggs in the Mayfield basket if it is just going to end poorly.
Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated laid out a timeline before training camp that suggested a deal would get done later in the summer.
Breer noted that Tristan Wirfs signed his extension on August 1, Luke Goedeke signed on September 2, and Zyon McCollum signed a deal on September 5. All of those deals came within the past two years.
So, while the team is getting closer to August 1, they have shown that they can push talks up to a month into the offseason before finally getting something done.
The talk around Mayfield and his contract might not pick up until the team breaks training camp, and he does not have a deal. At that point, the pressure will start to mount.
If the team finishes the preseason and shifts its focus to Week 1 and a deal is not done, there is a reason to sound an alarm. As of right now, it appears to be on the Bucs’ timeline.
Buccaneers Have a Tough Decision to Make With Baker Mayfield
In another article, Breer predicted a potential deal for Mayfield. He suggested a three-year extension that would be about $55M per year in average salary. Breer notes that if the Buccaneers wanted to give Mayfield the franchise tag for the next two seasons, it would be about $110M over two years. Breer suggests the Bucs throw in one more year to secure Mayfield at the same going rate.
That gets Mayfield out of being in the franchise tag scenario of playing year-to-year, and it allows the Bucs to massage his cap hits around the three seasons.
The only question would be if the Buccaneers wanted to go in another direction at the end of this season. They do not expect to pick high enough to find a quarterback, and it would be hard to acquire one another way. That team would have to be thinking about a rebuild if they were to move on from Mayfield.
So, this is a move that makes sense for both sides. A deal could get done after they see Mayfield in training camp for a few weeks.
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