The Atlanta Falcons opened training camp with two injured quarterbacks and an emergency veteran signing, and CBS Sports thinks Baker Mayfield could be the fix a year from now. There’s a complication.
CBS Sports NFL writer Bryan DeArdo published a list Saturday of six teams that could pursue Mayfield if he and Tampa Bay part ways after the 2026 season. Atlanta made the cut, and the quarterback room is the reason why.
“Their current plan for 2026 involves Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., but both are currently dealing with injuries, prompting Atlanta to sign veteran backup Cooper Rush at the start of training camp,” DeArdo wrote.
His pitch leaned on everything around the position.
“Mayfield took advantage of a favorable situation when he arrived in Tampa Bay, and he could be set up for similar success in Atlanta,” DeArdo wrote. “The Falcons have one of the league’s most impressive collections of skill players, including running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts. Atlanta may be a quarterback away from becoming a serious contender.”
Mayfield and Tampa Bay appear to be on the outs after the quarterback said he felt “disrespected” over their recent proposals. But would coming to Atlanta really make sense?
Baker Mayfield Falcons Fit Runs Through Kevin Stefanski History
Mayfield played for Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Their first year together produced an 11-5 record and the franchise’s first playoff win since the 1994 season, a wild-card victory over the New England Patriots.
The second year fell apart. Mayfield went 6-8 while fighting through a torn labrum, the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson that March, and Mayfield was shipped to Carolina in July.
He hasn’t let it go. When Stefanski took the Atlanta job in January, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter posted that Mayfield and Watson had “failed” in Cleveland, and the response came fast.
“Failed is quite the reach pal. Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach,” Mayfield wrote on X.
That was seven months ago, not seven years.
Falcons Quarterback Room Explains Why Mayfield Keeps Coming Up
The interest makes sense from Atlanta’s side of things regardless of the history.
Penix tore his ACL in November and still hasn’t taken an 11-on-11 rep at camp. Stefanski said last week he doesn’t know when he’ll be fully cleared. Tagovailoa missed the opening practice with lower back tightness and has been limited since. Rush arrived after Atlanta released Trevor Siemian, and the fourth arm belongs to Jack Strand, an undrafted rookie from Division II Minnesota State-Moorhead.
Mayfield’s situation is a whole lot better than any of those. He and Tampa Bay ended extension talks this recently, he’s playing out the final year of his contract, and he’d be the top free agent quarterback available in March if the Buccaneers don’t tag or re-sign him.
Whether Stefanski would want him is a different matter from whether the Falcons need him.
The two of them face each other twice a year already. Mayfield has made sure everyone knew he’d circled those dates. He’s 3-4 lifetime against Atlanta.
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