Todd Bowles is changing course with Baker Mayfield, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback will finally see preseason action against the Kansas City Chiefs.
That’s a notable shift from last year, when Mayfield did not get any preseason snaps in Bowles’ first season running the team. ESPN’s Jenna Laine reported the update on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “Bucs coach Todd Bowles said quarterback Baker Mayfield will play this week against the Chiefs. That’s a deviation from last year, when he did not see any preseason action,”
For Tampa Bay, the move gives the offense a chance to get some live work before the games count. The Buccaneers have made a few changes this offseason, including moving on from Mike Evans, and those first-team reps could matter as the group tries to get in sync.
The bigger backdrop here is the contract situation. Mayfield and the Buccaneers were unable to reach an extension before camp, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport laid out where the talks stood.
“The Bucs were willing to make him a highly paid quarterback,” Rapoport said. “They weren't willing to give him the long-term security that Baker Mayfield wanted, only offering a two-year deal with $50 million, average per year, just based on the new money.
Baker Mayfield wanted more. He wanted security.
All that is true. The other part of this is, the Bucs and the entire NFL have seen what Baker Mayfield can do when he's got something to prove, when his back is against the wall, when he knows that everybody doubts him, and that product has been really, really good.”
If Mayfield puts together a strong season, the price tag for Tampa Bay could climb well beyond what it might have cost them this year.
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