On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that they have officially re-signed quarterback Baker Mayfield.
According to reports, it’s a three-year deal worth $100 million.
The number one pick in the 2018 NFL draft bounced around in 2022 as he played for the Panthers and the Rams.
Mayfield signed a one-year, $4 million contract with Tampa Bay last March, and he proved he could be the guy going forward.
One of just nine quarterbacks to start all 17 games during the 2023 season, Mayfield completed 364-of-566 passes (64.3%) for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns. Mayfield earned his first career Pro Bowl selection. The 29-year-old established career highs in completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completion percentage.
In addition, the sixth-year quarterback led Tampa Bay to its third consecutive NFC South division title, a team-record-tying fourth consecutive playoff appearance, and a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.
On Wednesday, Mayfield addressed the media after signing his new deal, and he explained why he had a career-year in 2023.
“From the very beginning, the organization made me comfortable in saying, ‘Be the best version of yourself,’” Mayfield said. “As a quarterback, somebody that you always have eyes on you, there’s no other words that can make you feel more welcomed than that—for me, just trying to do the little things right. Once the play is there, then you can really let the energy, the character, and all of that rub off on everybody else. For me, just knowing that if you play good ball and you trust the guys around you, good things will happen. [Looking] back on this process, looking at system-wise, that was a big reason why I had a lot of success.
The Buccaneers brought back many key players from last season, including Mike Evans. According to Mayfield, Tampa has enough to win a Super Bowl.
We know the pieces that we have,” Mayfield said. “We’re capable of winning a Super Bowl. You set that standard, and you don’t let anybody dip below that line. For us, we have a lot of the same guys coming back. We were there. Once you get a taste of losing in the playoffs, it makes you driven even more. For us, knowing that we were a little bit short in the playoffs and just to continue to push… There [were] a lot of lessons we learned last year as a team, as well. Starting out 3-1 and going to 4-7 and having to win five-out-of-six of the last ones to get into the playoffs, we were battle tested. Knowing that we can control that – there’s things that can go your way, but as long as you stay the course, good things will happen.”
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles says Mayfield makes the players around him better.
“It’s always great to be able to extend a player and a person of Baker’s caliber,” said Bowles. “Baker is the epitome of what we look for in a player: he’s tough, strong-willed, competitive, resilient, and elevates the people around him. He is a thoughtful and genuine teammate who will do anything to help the team win. He was a huge part of our success during the 2023 season, and we look forward to having him continue to lead our offense into the future.”
Mayfield is the answer for Tampa Bay right now, and he was hungry to prove he had the goods. Let’s see if he’ll keep that hunger to take this team to the next level.
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