The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are suddenly giving off a shaky feel, and Baker Mayfield has added to the noise.
Not long after two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea officially asked for a trade, Mayfield made his frustration with Tampa Bay’s handling of his contract situation clear in comments to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“I wanted the deal done and set the deadline and told them it was going to be all ball after that, and I did mean that,” Mayfield told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “And I don’t know if they thought I was just going to take some of the offers that they gave, but I’m at the point of my career and understanding what I’ve brought to this franchise.
So, disappointing in that regard to not have… to feel disrespected a little bit. And that’s really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued after thinking you’ve earned it.”
Reports say talks on an extension are over, and Mayfield is expected to play out the last season of his three-year, $100 million deal before reaching free agency in the spring.
If that happens, the New York Jets ought to be in the conversation.
There’s a lot that would depend on how the 2026 season unfolds. If Geno Smith gets the Jets to the playoffs and starts looking like the version Seattle saw, the team’s thinking on Mayfield would shift. But if the Jets are looking ahead to 2027, Mayfield fits the picture in a big way.
Since joining Tampa Bay as its starter in 2023, Mayfield has played 51 games and helped the Buccaneers to a 27-24 record. He’s completed 66.3% of his passes for 12,237 yards, with 95 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
His 2025 season came with plenty of disruption around him. Mike Evans missed eight games, Chris Godwin missed nine, and Bucky Irving missed 10. Even with that, Mayfield still threw for 3,693 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while completing 63.2% of his passes and averaging 6.8 yards per attempt.
He was banged up too, showing up on the injury report in 10 of 18 weeks with a sprained MCL and PCL, a biceps contusion and an AC joint shoulder sprain.
The year before, with better health on both sides of the ball, he put together the best season of his career. Among 32 qualified quarterbacks in 2024, he ranked third in completion rate at 71.4%, third in passing yards with 4,500, tied for sixth in yards per attempt at 7.9, tied for second in touchdown passes with 41, first in interceptions with 16 and fourth in passer rating at 106.8.
When Mayfield is rolling, he can be one of the league’s most dangerous passers. Even last season, he got Tampa Bay out to a 6-2 start and was in the early MVP mix before the team dropped seven of its final nine games and finished 8-9.
And there’s more to his game than just what he does from the pocket. In 2025, his 86.8 rushing grade from Pro Football Focus was second among 30 qualified quarterbacks, and he finished fifth in scramble yards with 377. Over the last two seasons, he has averaged 22.4 rushing yards per game and 6.6 yards per attempt.
His 2026 season could shape the market. If he gets back to the 2024 level, he could be looking at more than $50 million per year. If he looks more like he did in 2025, that number could land closer to $35 million.
For the Jets, the issue is straightforward: they need to start winning. If the 2026 season goes badly, Gang Green could move on from Aaron Glenn in season and bring in a new head coach next offseason.
That kind of reset could line up with Mayfield.
The Jets already have a strong offensive setup around the quarterback spot, including a high-upside offensive line. The glaring question remains the same one it always is: who’s under center?
Mayfield would give them their most dependable answer there in years. Since becoming Tampa Bay’s starter, he’s tied winning production to real passing production, and the Jets haven’t come close to that level in 11 years.
Bringing him in would not block the Jets from taking a top quarterback in the 2027 NFL draft. With three first-round picks and premium assets, they’d still have room to keep building. It would simply give them more options.
The roster still needs work. An upgrade at center and a WR2 are two spots that need attention before 2027, but the foundation is there. The Jets just can’t keep waiting around and hoping the answer appears on its own.
Mayfield has already shown he can steer a team into contention. For the Jets, that kind of steadiness would matter now, and it wouldn’t shut the door on whatever comes next. It would make the path forward cleaner.
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For Jets fans, the encouraging part is not just the clean throwing, but the fit around him. Last seasons problems were tied heavily to pressure in the pocket, and that is where this years better pass protection could make the difference between another uneven run and a more stable one. Smith does not need a perfect setup to matter, but he may finally be getting a better one. [Read more 🡒]