Baker Mayfield has another fresh reason to circle the calendar, and this one comes from Sports Illustrated.
Veteran NFL writer Conor Orr put together a list of 14 teams he believes have a real shot at winning the Super Bowl this season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were left out. That’s a notable omission for a team that was being talked about as a Super Bowl contender during the first half of the 2025 NFL regular season and made the playoffs the year before.
For Mayfield, who has built a reputation for thriving when people doubt him, the snub adds another layer to an offseason already shaped by questions. Tampa Bay’s second-half collapse, along with injuries to Mayfield and some of the team’s best offensive players, sent the Bucs tumbling to second place in the NFC South behind the rival Carolina Panthers.
The source of the disappointment wasn’t just the injury list, either. Tampa Bay also struggled badly against what should have been weaker NFC South competition even when the roster was relatively healthy.
That reality has put the Buccaneers in a different kind of spotlight heading into 2026, especially with contract talks still moving along at a crawl. The article’s tone only sharpens the pressure. Mayfield and the Bucs now have more material to pin to the wall, and more motivation to use as fuel.
The bigger issue is perception. The standard in Tampa Bay has fallen since Tom Brady ran the offense, and both Mayfield and Todd Bowles have to face that head-on.
Around the national NFL media, there are plenty of voices who no longer see Mayfield as a top-10 quarterback or someone who should be paid like one. That stands in sharp contrast to last season, when some of those same evaluators had him as high as No. 5 in the NFL MVP race, ahead of Lamar Jackson and Sam Darnold.
That’s the tension now: the respect Mayfield has earned in flashes, and the skepticism that keeps following him back. This latest ranking only gives him more to work with.
In Other News...
Raymond James Lands A Massive College Football Showcase For Tampa
The annual Georgia-Florida rivalry game is headed for a temporary change of scenery, and Tampa is getting a rare turn in the spotlight. With EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville set for renovations, the matchup will move away from its longtime home, giving one of college footballs marquee neutral-site games a different backdrop for the next couple of seasons.
The 2026 edition is expected to land in Atlanta before the series shifts to Raymond James Stadium in 2027, bringing a major showcase to the Buccaneers building. For a game that has long been one of the sports biggest destination events, the stop in Tampa offers a fresh stage while Jacksonville gets its stadium work done. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Just Got An Unexpected Opening In The NFC South
The early tone of the NFC South has already tilted a little before Tampa Bay has even fully settled into camp. Carolina is dealing with a growing list of health concerns as practices get underway, while the Buccaneers have not reported injuries and are still waiting to ramp up, giving them a cleaner runway than the team that has spent the summer trying to sort through setbacks.
For a division race that often comes down to who survives the grind, that matters. Tampa Bay is trying to build on last season and take back control of the South, and the opening weeks now look like a chance to separate before the standings even start to take shape. Whether that edge lasts is another question, but it is the kind of early break a contender notices. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers May Have One More Move To Fix Their Biggest Weak Spot
Tampa Bay has already done plenty of work to reshape its linebacker room for 2026, bringing in Alex Anzalone and using the draft to add Josiah Trotter. Even with those moves, the Buccaneers still look like a team that could use one more veteran presence at the position, especially after spending the offseason trying to shore up what had become a clear weak spot.
One name now floating into that conversation is a Miami linebacker who fits the kind of role Tampa Bay could still use, particularly if the room remains crowded in South Florida. No deal has been confirmed, but the logic is easy to see from the Buccaneers' side: an experienced defender with coverage ability could give them depth, insurance and a little more certainty if the younger pieces need time to settle in. [Read more 🡒]