To say that the quarterback play from Baker Mayfield has been a disaster this season for the Bucs would be underselling it. Tampa Bay could live with a few mistakes from time to time had the team not just forked over a gigantic contract that’s going to pay Mayfield $55 million per season through 2028, but with the money that he’s making, everything he does will be magnified ten times more.

The Bucs have three wins this season and Mayfield has been a non-factor in all of them. In their first win at Dallas, he didn’t play. The following two wins saw him throw for a combined 64 yards as his main responsibility was to hand the ball off and keep the ground game going.

That’s not worth $55 million.

Bucs Aren’t Getting Their Money’s Worth With Mayfield

When Baker Mayfield has been asked to do more, it’s been a detriment to the team. In Week 1, Mayfield fumbled three at Cincinnati, including one that led to a scoop-and-score for the defense. On Sunday night in a three-point loss to the Bears in primetime, Mayfield threw two interceptions, including a pick-six that almost dug a hole too deep to climb out of.

By the way, Tampa Bay’s defense allowed just three points in the second half.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Mayfield has four touchdowns on the year (three passing, one rushing) and seven turnovers (four interceptions, three fumbles) this season. Once again, that’s not play worthy of anywhere near $55 million.

Yet it doesn’t all fall on Mayfield. Pass protection regressed for Tampa Bay’s offensive line as the Bears game went on, plus the unit had too many pre-snap penalties. The wide receivers just can’t get involved, and when they do, they drop the football too often. And offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is just as much of a culprit in this as Mayfield. His offense doesn’t get the unit in rhythm and questions have come about if he’s putting Mayfield in the best situation to be successful.

It’s become a chicken-or-the-egg question for Tampa Bay’s offense. Is Mayfield more of the problem for the Bucs, or is it Robinson?

From Todd Bowles’ comments on Monday, it sounds like it’s just as much Robinson’s fault as it is Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback.

Todd Bowles Discusses Bucs’ Issues On Offense

“That’s definitely one of things that we got to look at at the bye week,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said when asked about Baker Mayfield’s struggles. “Are we comfortable with the calls that we’re calling – that he’s comfortable calling and playing with? Are we doing the right things for him schematically, and how his mechanics are and what he’s seeing on the field?

“We got to come to a decision on that, and we’ve got to come to that quick because it’s been a little bit of challenge lately. And we’ve got to make some changes there for the betterment of the team from a coaching and playing standpoint. We got to move forward after the bye.”

Bucs OC Zac Robinson – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Tampa Bay has had Mayfield here long enough to know what his strengths are. He’s better when he’s on the move and able to roll out in the pocket. He has been reduced to throwing screen plays and taking deep shots, which is not his forté with the exception of the 58-yard deep ball he hit to Tez Johnson on Sunday night.

The decision-making certainly falls on Mayfield. And him playing through injury is a movie we’ve seen before and we know what the outcome will be. Mayfield’s teammates haven’t done him any favors either, which has all added into the concoction that is Tampa Bay’s offensive struggles.

“Obviously the turnovers is number one, but we got to look at pass protection,” Bowles said. “We got to look at the penalties, the false starts are huge for us. I feel like we made progress and than we regressed yesterday to about a month ago. We can’t have five starts and starting first-and-15, that’s number two of it.

Bears DE Austin Booker and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“What we’re asking them to do, we got to look at that from a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint to see what we can do. We got to hold onto footballs as receivers. That’s just to start out among many things, but that’s just a start.”

Tampa Bay will have the bye week to figure out how to get the most out of this one-dimensional offense that ranks first in rushing at 163.9 yards per game, dead last in passing at 141.9 yards per game, and 18th in scoring at 22.4 points per game.

Some harsh reality checks will need to be had. It’s crazy to say, but this season isn’t over – even at 3-6, as every team in the NFC South has just three wins. But for the expectations of this Tampa Bay team in 2026, the offense’s performance hasn’t been nearly good enough.