Baker Mayfield is still without an extension deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which means he is on track to become a free agent this March. The general assumption is that he and the Buccaneers will eventually run it back with a new deal. But until he puts ink on paper, there will always be speculations about his potential to play somewhere else. How about the idea of Mayfield playing for the New England Patriots?
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah recently floated the idea that the Patriots could be the next home of the former No. 1 NFL Draft pick.
“We’ve all assumed that Baker [Mayfield] just goes right back to Tampa. Don’t sleep on the New England Patriots. If the New England Patriots are in the Baker business then the No. 3 pick is up for sale,” Jeremiah said (h/t Awful Announcing).
The Patriots are widely viewed as a QB-needy pick as neither Mac Jones nor Bailey Zappe look like credible starters based on their performances during the 2023 season. Mayfield isn’t a top-tier QB but he definitely did better than anyone in the Pats’ QB room last season. In fact, Mayfield earned his first-ever Pro Bowl nod while with the Buccaneers.
Will The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Re-sign Baker Mayfield?
The biggest obstacle that could stand in the way between Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a potentially bigger contract offer from other teams in NFL free agency. Mayfield has successfully rebuilt his value in the league and is looking to parlay his resurgence into a huge payday.
In 2023, Mayfield, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, passed for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns with 10 interceptions on a 64.3 percent completion rate.