The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a long list of free agents this offseason, with a lot of big names to bring back. Per Spotrac, Baker Mayfield is projected to land a 4-year, 120-million-dollar deal. The contract specifies $85 million “practically guaranteed,” on top of a $53 million bonus at signing.
According to Spotrac, a deal like this could allow the Buccaneers to bring the 29-year-old back to the team with only a 6.25-million-dollar cap hit in 2024.
“Baker’s comeback has been one of the more enjoyable storylines of the past few seasons, culminating with a playoff win this past season with the Bucs,” Spotrac wrote.
“Tampa Bay is trying to keep Baker off of the open market at the final hour. We’ve projected a contract that essentially plays like a cap-adjusted version of Geno Smith’s deal in Seattle while using a double bonus structure to keep cap hits insanely low over the next two seasons.”
Baker Mayfield finished the 2023 season with 4,044 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Leading the Buccaneers to the second round of the playoffs, The Buccaneers fell short to the Detroit Lions in a 31-23 defeat.
Mayfield “Fit Right in,” According to Bowles
On Good Morning Football on February 27, Head Coach Todd Bowles commented on the importance of bringing Mayfield back.
“It’s an extremely high priority, obviously,” Bowles said. “You know, we got a couple days before the league year begins, but we love Baker. Baker had a heck of a year. He fit right in with us all the way around. The chemistry was outstanding with him and all the receivers and the offense as a whole, so you want to hope to build on that. I understand the business side of it. Like I said, we like Bake and we hope things get worked out.”
Mayfield: “If I’m Back in Tampa, I Would Love to Have Mike Back”
With a deal like this, it’s possible that the Buccaneers could potentially bring Mike Evans back to the team. On February 7, an interview on Up and Adams featured Baker Mayfield.
“If I’m back in Tampa, I would love to have Mike back,” he commented.
Likewise, Mayfield stated that Evans “deserves to be a Buc for life.”
In a press conference on February 7, Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht told the media that Evans “is an unprecedented player” and that the team wants him (Evans) “to be a Buc for life.”
Evans has had 10 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Only two other receivers in NFL history, Jerry Rice and Hall-of-Famer Randy Moss, can say the same. Markedly, Evans is the first to make it happen in the first 10 seasons of his career.
Licht: “There’s a Way that You Can Make It Work”
On February 29, Buccaneers General Manager Licht featured on Sirius XM NFL Radio.
“When a player really wants to be with a team which we know, and when the team really wants a player, there’s a way that you can make it work,” Licht replied when asked about Mayfield’s future with the team.
“It usually happens, and we happen to have several of those situations going on.”
As of now, no contracts have been made official.
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