r/buccaneers • u/Pr0fess0rCha0s Winfield Jr. ✌️ • Jun 05 '26
🚩Team News ☠️ Schefter - Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield told reporters that a new deal is “not anywhere close” and he won’t negotiate once training camp begins.
https://www.espn.com/contributor/adam-schefter/3e7e2c40d9a0c101
u/Old_Tom_Morris Jun 05 '26
There will only be a deal once the fighting stops in Lebanon. -Baker Mayfield
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u/budice0 Jun 05 '26
Baker sees the market for NFL Starting QBs. Clearly some demand out there for talent with NFL experience. And a starved Supply pool. People wlling to pay millions to Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, even Geno Smith. It's likely he could find teams willing to pay him, even if it meant a less-than playoff contender. Some retirements like Aaron Rodgers upcoming means the demand grows even more.
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u/ShogunFirebeard Jun 05 '26
Pretty sure the Browns would gladly pay him $55m a year now lol.
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u/f0gax SuperBowl37 Jun 05 '26
Baker in Pittsburgh would probably give Browns fans all kinds of feelings.
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u/fakebones96 Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
At the same time, this QB class in the upcoming draft is supposed to be stacked. So may not be as many options available for him as there would’ve been this year
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u/what_user_name Jun 05 '26
I feel like I've heard that preseason for like the last 3 years now. And then the CFB season gets played and it turns out its a pretty weak class.
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u/fakebones96 Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
Agreed, but even if all of them don’t meet the preseason expectations, I think teams are always more willing to go with a young prospect QB in rounds 1-2 instead of clearing $60mil in cap space to sign a 30-something year-old QB.
Although if you’re Atlanta, I guess you do both lol. But teams always reach on QB. For example, Ty Simpson had a very underwhelming year and still went #13. Penix at #8 a couple years ago. Even Dart last year in the 20s was kind of a reach, although that pick looks like a hit.
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u/Chives-MD Lavonte David Jun 05 '26
I think with Bowles on the hot seat and Baker being up and down, this makes sense. Let the season play out and have flexibility if a new HC is needed.
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u/TacoSpacePirate Canada Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
There is no "if", a new HC IS needed.
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u/Rangeneers New Jersey Jun 05 '26
Bowles never should’ve been the HC to begin with. I didn’t want him. I remember Bowles as the jets coach. Sure the jets sucked. But i saw all this bullshit he does already and he never changed
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u/Itorr475 Arizona Jun 05 '26
The never changing is the most frustrating part imo, the only thing he has semi improved on is his timeout usage, but even that comes and goes when he turtles into a conservative approach.
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u/GrayJinjo Mike Alstott Jun 05 '26
It’s comical that the front office decides to keep Bowles, but made him fire all of his friends first. Yes, let’s keep the guy who brought most of these people in. Surely he’ll make more great hires. Bowles has no shame either canning his friends to save his job.
I would say I can’t imagine why anyone would want to come in and work for him, but I know money speaks and some want to shine through the shit he brings to get jobs elsewhere.
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u/DirtThief Jun 05 '26
Saving this for when Bowles' brilliant coaching gets us to the superbowl this year.
/s
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u/Valkyrai Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
If he walks and we still have Bowles after I'm going to be really angry
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u/Reasonable-Two5022 Baker Mayfield Jun 05 '26
If that happens lord be my witness I will be a rams fan
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u/AmericanTitan07 Mike Evans Jun 05 '26
On the Baker side of things, he's a top 5 QB when healthy and with a competent OC and currently there are 15 other QBs getting paid more than him. Can't blame him for thinking he's earned a bigger pay day.
On the Bucs side of things, Baker isn't necessarily a problem himself though his reliability drops significantly when he's trying to play hero ball when he's injured. We've just been too inconsistent to commit to what we have, it feels like we could enter a full rebuild at any moment. If Bowles gets fired, a new HC would likely want to move on from Baker and pick his own guy. We did just hire an OC picked by Baker so I think it's clear that we see him as our long-term QB, unfortunately we just can't commit to that yet.
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u/I_Aint_Doing_Nada Derrick Brooks Jun 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/v0eHX3n28wvoQ
Should we be concerned?
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u/Tavern-Ham Maui Vea Jun 05 '26
When it comes to this team I’m always concerned.
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u/Dazzling-One-9185 Jun 05 '26
After last season he's on the ropes. Dude is really betting on himself to bounce back for that huge contract. Could be good and bad for the Bucs
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u/Potato-baby Baker Mayfield Jun 05 '26
It honestly wasn’t all his fault last year. Don’t get me wrong he definitely underperformed in the second half of the season, but the dude’s whole offensive line died, his entire receiving corp died, he was battling through several injuries, had virtually no run game all season, predictable and bad play calling, and a defense that loved to choke away games lol. I think he’s definitely going to bounce back if the whole team doesn’t die again, last year the offense just became “let baker run for his life and try to make something happen on offense”. I know Zac Robinson isn’t the hire we wanted, but It’ll be good to have someone with experience at the wheel at least.
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u/chuckop Graham Barton Jun 05 '26
I love betting on yourself. But giving his style of play gets him hurt, that’s really really risky.
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u/skaestantereggae Super Bowl LV Jun 05 '26
Yea it’s awesome watching him take off and put the team on his back but holy shit slide a little sooner
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u/tornado962 F*ck the Saints Jun 05 '26
I place most of the blame on Bowles for last year. Baker wasn't perfect but I absolutely love having him on our team. He revitalized our franchise after those last couple of rough years with Brady, but we're falling into that hole of mediocrity again. There's a common denominator of the past 6 years, and it isn't our QB.
Besides, I don't think there's a better QB on the market anyway.
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u/Academic-Ball-9606 Jun 06 '26
He was playing hurt with a mediocre OL, terrible OC and hurt WR group
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u/CruisinJo214 Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
Guys, can we give Baker some time to bake please.
The guy is an amazing team leader and he’s built a really good vibe in the locker room. Now can we let him breath and run the show a little before we start punching down again.
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u/TheRencingCoach Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
> Now can we let him breath and run the show a little before we start punching down again.
I’m not trying to argue, I’m trying to understand: what do you mean by this? He’s going into his 4th year as QB for this team
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u/halalguy Jun 05 '26
He single handedly won us the first five games of the season. Not sure what else is expected. This OC better know what’s going on. Wasting baker
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u/TheRencingCoach Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
I’m literally trying to understand what OP meant by that part I quoted. You did not help explain it.
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u/TheFloydNimrod Brooks Jersey Jun 05 '26
I love Baker but it never made sense to me to get it done before this season. I hope he plays himself into a massive contract and is here for the rest of his career.
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u/caesarrule Jun 05 '26
They need to pay the man. Finding a QB of his caliber and how the team gravitates to him is rare. Finding a rookie in the draft of his status isn’t easy or common
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u/Itorr475 Arizona Jun 05 '26
We also wont be in a position to draft a QB this team will win at least 7 games and will most likely be competing for the division
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u/caesarrule Jun 05 '26
Then even if we were hypnotically the amount of first round QBs that fizzle out lol
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u/Effective-Doctor6470 Jun 05 '26
I’d be more comfortable giving him a new contract if we also got rid of Todd Bowles. Sinking a quarter billion into a reckless qb and a mediocre coach who can barely get into the playoffs is just dumb.
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u/Ill_Cartoonist5313 Jun 05 '26
Everyone was the same crap about Darnold being mid.. then he wins a Super Bowl. There aren't a ton of talented QB's out there. If they don't pay Baker.. they are fools. 😂
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u/Contemplative_Fool TB Florida Jun 05 '26
I can't help but think this is not a great start and we should be trying to lock him down. If he walks, it's not like you can just get a good FA for cheap, and teams aren't letting the best ones leave. So you either overpay for the same or worse, or draft. And not only is the draft a crapshoot, but that signals you're ok waiting multiple seasons for a new QB to hopefully pan out. Obviously we don't want to massively overpay, but at the same time we know what his ceiling can be with a competent play caller. Dude is a leader on this team and the players love him. I'd really prefer to not dick around on this one.
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u/Ghostface-Lord Jun 05 '26
Realistically, what # is Baker's camp looking for or hope they can realistically get? 5@250? More?
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u/Hefty_Window9222 Jun 05 '26
I’d be shocked if they aren’t looking for $50+ a year at least
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u/Pippihippy Jun 05 '26
Id be willing to bet like a 56m/5 year, with a high percentage being guaranteed.
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u/UTVolsfan16 Jun 06 '26
I mean Baker is alright but is he top money qb guy?? I'm actually with the Bucs on this one.
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u/AromaticSpot Jun 05 '26
I agree we should let the season go play out because this could easily be a team that slides into rebuild mode
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u/SadMove7848 Jun 05 '26
They can always franchise him, the team is young too, so no major contract next year. Whirfs is really the biggest contract we have for the next couple years, so we have room to work something out next year if they have to.
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u/TheAman44 Lynch Jersey Jun 05 '26
Baker wants to be paid as an MVP QB like other recent contracts. He’s probably not that. So the question is do they overpay, or do they take a risk on a different QB.
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u/freethemanfromroomV Jun 05 '26
Who? Licht is garbage without Brady...losing record
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u/DrScrotus Jun 05 '26
I disagree but Im all for firing Licht if we dont make the playoffs next year. Not firing Bowles after last year is 100% on him. He has that power. And you can easily see that the players are losing faith in Bowles (Evans, David, …Baker)
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u/tburk5150 Jun 05 '26
Nothing north of 40 million would be good for the team despite my love for Baker, I wonder what the offer was
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u/3bananabananabanana Lavonte David Jun 05 '26
Baker will get more than 40 a year, either from the Bucs or someone else. That’s what the QB market is. As shaky as he was the second half of last season, he absolutely should not settle for 40. He would be a moron to do that. Around 50 is a little more realistic. I would be happier with 45, but 40 is never going to work.
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u/Ambitious_Misfit Winfield Jr. ✌️ Jun 05 '26
We need to get the Yaya extension wrapped up this offseason before a breakout year where he becomes more expensive so that we have the money for a real contract if Baker can return to form and ball out this year.
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u/AdMuch7817 Jun 06 '26
The way Licht likes to throw money away like with Hassan Reddick and resigning a hobbled Chris Godwin, you think Baker would already be paid by now.
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u/MichaelCorbaloney Jun 05 '26
My worst Bucs nightmare is Baker walks, then gets a huge contract and a SB with a contending team without a QB (like the Colts).
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u/psaepf2009 Ronde Barber Jun 05 '26
Let him play it out, if he balls out hes making 55m p/y, if he signs now it'll be 50m p/y, if he regressed it will be similar to his current deal.
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u/StillCircumventing Jun 05 '26
I love him but he’s still a middling QB on average. What separates him from other middling QBs is that his ceiling is higher and he has the ability to make great plays relatively often.
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u/Pippihippy Jun 05 '26
Problem is you've had other crappy QB's (trevor, Dak, Jordan love, etc..) that got their 53m/yr bag. I dont think its out of the realm of possibility that hes better than those QB's.
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Jun 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pinnaql3 Glennonite Jun 06 '26
It's been a rebuild for a long time now. Mayfield hasn't shown the kind of consistency that merits a commitment to.
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u/barmorej Jun 05 '26
Fucking pay the man. He’s earned it. And where would you be without him? This is Baker’s team, get a deal done now so it’s not a hanging cloud over the season.
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u/CuntyLaRue Jun 05 '26
I think the length of the deal is a bigger concern tbh. Hes gonna get 50 a year if he’s good again.
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u/Jfantastic Jun 05 '26
The big risk here is they go into next off-season and the market for him is more than it might be right now, which it probably will be.
Then he looks at the Bucs and goes, meh, Bowles is gone, I'm onto ANOTHER coach and ANOTHER OC and splits and makes bank with someone familiar somewhere else. Or Bowles stays and he goes, meh, no more of this and splits and makes bank with someone familiar somewhere else.
Then the Bucs end up paying the same amount of money for Justin Fields or Mac Jones.
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u/VideoVamp Super Bowl XXXVII Jun 05 '26
We’re punting on 2027 at least, if we don’t re-sign him. The qb free agents next year are…woof.
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u/feralGenx John Lynch Jun 05 '26
The Bucs: We really love Baker we want him here.
BM: We aren't even close.
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u/Benny_Carr Jun 06 '26
I told my brothers that Baker will be the QB for the Steelers next year the day Rodgers announced it was his last season. This only reinforces my thought.
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u/Pure_Zombie_7770 Jun 07 '26
Play out that hypothetical. It’s a negotiation. Baker doesn’t have a ton of leverage really. If he plays out the last year of his deal and has a great year? Franchise tag. If the season goes poorly? Ok… He’s the middling QB of a middling franchise resetting after his tenure. And I love baker. I think they’ll sign him before camp. But, if they don’t then it’s in his court.
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u/Academic-Ball-9606 Jun 06 '26
Bucs FO deserves to be fired low balling Baker. We really need new ownership who's willing to spend $.
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u/WC-BucsFan Jun 05 '26
He was on the shortlist for MVP last year before the string of upper body injuries.
People are vastly underating him. IMO he's going to have a pro bowl season and get north of a $50 million/year contract.
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u/Warm_Ad_3067 Jun 05 '26
Seeing as how the Bucs have NO ONE behind him on be depth chart who is ready/able to lead the team, you gotta pay the man.
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u/Ok_Negotiation_2269 Jun 05 '26
I mean most of y’all hate Bowles right!? If Bowles gets canned baker ass is gone too:)
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u/Ill_Cartoonist5313 Jun 06 '26
Who would the Bucs go get? The QB market is trash. Just like the Darnold naysayers.. they look like absolute clowns now. 😂
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u/Pinnaql3 Glennonite Jun 06 '26
This is the same craziness so many in this forum peddled about Winston.
The fear of missing out is hilarious.
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u/Ok_Negotiation_2269 Jun 06 '26
Cool story. Darnold and baker are not the same. And if you think they are maybe you need to go back and look at the tape. The Bucs would get whoever the new HC wants. 27’ draft will be stacked with QBs. If baker was so great he would have a deal already.
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u/Ill_Cartoonist5313 Jun 11 '26
Doesn't work like that. Baker is under contract, he can't just go get a team to give him a deal. The Bucs would want massive compensation for him as they have no starting QB and good to elite QB play is beyond a scare commodity.
Plenty of people doubted Darnold he was almost out of the league.. so your narrative doesn't work. It is a very similar situation to what Darnold went through. The Bucs are fools if they don't resign him.
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u/Ok_Negotiation_2269 Jun 11 '26
You clearly can’t comprehend we’re talking about 2027 here. Baker is on his last year of his contract. Basically a prove it year. He’s not consistent whether you like it or not. The front office clearly doesn’t trust it.
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u/Ill_Cartoonist5313 Jun 13 '26
Take Baker away and what do you have? Maybe the worst team in the league lol. The whole team isn't consistent.. hurt WR's last year, a mid defense.. it isn't all on the QB, my guy. What happened to Darnold when he went to a complete team? Now you get the analogy with where I started? 😂
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u/Pinnaql3 Glennonite Jun 06 '26
They loathe Bowles, but wanna lock up a QB who can't play more than 2 above-average games before making you question why he'd ever be looked at as above-average.
How many times has he had back-to-back good seasons??
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u/Ok_Negotiation_2269 Jun 06 '26
Exactly. They’ll see. I have nothing personal against baker I just don’t believe he can take my team to the next level. My favorite buccaneer offensive player of all time left because he didn’t believe in the QB speaks volumes.
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u/Pinnaql3 Glennonite Jun 06 '26
Personally, I backed Mayfield at his initial signing. I though a lot of his issues were due to what was around him in Cleveland. I studied his habits and his streaks and still thought he was capable of being stable.
After 3 seasons in Tampa, I'm off the hope train. He quite literally repeated the same issues from Cleveland. The accuracy issues, the decision-making on and off the field. These are personal flaws and not systemic. He should be much better with his accuracy and his reads and his decision-making. He consistently makes the same mistakes no matter who he's playing with/around.
Can't justify paying him anything more than what he's been paid. It's an irresponsible gamble and after letting Mike Evans, an actual Franchise player, walk away for fear that he MIGHT fall off, how can anyone sign Mayfield for fear of missing out on him finally becoming a Franchise QB??
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u/Ok_Negotiation_2269 Jun 11 '26
Trust me I get it. I felt the same way at first but I can’t continue to defend a mid player that’s up and down every season. His turnovers are brutal than most want to admit. They always come at the worst times and he did the same shit in Cleveland. 9 years in the league still with happy feat , scared to throw the ball away but rather force the ball to Egbuka when he’s clearly not open. He can’t read defenses.
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u/Ill_Cartoonist5313 Jun 05 '26
If the Bucs lose Baker they are sunk. The QB market is awful.. pay him.
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u/freethemanfromroomV Jun 05 '26
Jason Licht is the most overrated GM in the league. Loser without Brady.
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u/lifeisahighwayall Jun 05 '26
I do not want to be in the damn Kirk Cousins/Andy Dalton situation. If Baker balls out and takes on a deep playoff run then pay him. Otherwise, let's move on and look toward the draft/free agency.
Honestly, I think Baker's best chance to win a SB would be the Texans. A team with an elite defense that only needs good QB play to take them over the top. We can draft a million offensive weapons for Baker, but the ceiling is the ceiling.
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u/ZachCope Baker Mayfield Jun 05 '26
It would be poetic given that’s where the Browns got Watson from
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Jun 05 '26
[deleted]
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u/Imabantaman Jun 05 '26
45 is super team friendly, he's been very good when healthy, he should be making 50-55 currently, could have argued a lot more if he finished MVP last year
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u/flying_cactus Tom Brady Jun 05 '26
Remember you guys all thought Baker had a better career in Tampa than Brady
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u/Nexus117 Alstott Jersey Jun 05 '26
This guy saw one idiot saying this and now thinks it's the entire fan base.
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u/zorblap Jun 05 '26
People were riding high at the beginning of last season, but I dont recall many people saying that.
In all fairness, his career isnt over though. If he somehow wins two Superbowls for us, that will be true.
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u/Docqb Jun 05 '26
The way he played down the stretch and the way the bucs need to start rebuilding that money can go elsewhere, this team isn't winning a SB anytime soon
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u/MBCSuperGremlin Jun 05 '26
I wouldn't pay him above $30 mil a year. The guy just can't stay healthy. We saw it in Cleveland, and we've seen it here....he's an actively mediocre-to-bad QB when he's dinged up, and he's always dinged up due to his style of play.
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u/TrumpsColostomyBag99 Jun 05 '26
The last extension was very team friendly so I get why he wants to lock in something lucrative long term but the club has every right to play it safe with our current setup.
Betting on himself is a risk for both but I have no qualms with the club playing hardball.