Baker Mayfield revived his career on a one-year deal with the Bucs in the 2023 season, and the team rewarded him in the offseason with a three-year, $100 million contract. After bouncing from team to team in 2022 and 2023, Mayfield finally found a true home for himself in the NFL.

And all the 29-year-old quarterback has done in 2024 after being trusted with the keys to the team in Tampa Bay is turn in a season that ranks among the best by a quarterback in franchise history.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Heading into the regular season finale on Sunday against the Saints – a game the Bucs need to win to clinch a fourth straight NFC South title – Mayfield has already put up an all-time season by a Buccaneer quarterback.

Through 16 games, he has completed 71.7% of his passes for 4,279 yards and 39 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. He has a 107.6 passer rating, plus he has three rushing touchdowns for a total of 42 scores.

That 71.7% completion percentage is currently the best ever among Bucs quarterbacks who qualify, and his 107.6 passer rating is the best among qualified Tampa Bay quarterbacks as well.

Mayfield’s 4,279 passing yards are already the fifth-most in a single season by a Buccaneer, and with 355 yards against the Saints, he can pass Tom Brady (4,633 in 2020) for the fourth-most.

Speaking of Brady, there are some instances in which Baker Mayfield has already put himself in the greatest of all time’s class, at least in terms of franchise bests. With a five-touchdown day against the Panthers in Week 17, Mayfield tied Brady’s record for most games in a single season with 3+ passing touchdowns. They now share the record with eight, though another 3+ touchdown day against New Orleans on Sunday would give Mayfield the single-season team record.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Mayfield is also two touchdown passes away from passing Brady (40 in 2020) for the second-most in a single season by a Tampa Bay quarterback. With four more passing touchdowns on Sunday, he’ll tie Brady’s single-season franchise record of 43, which he set in 2021.

With his rushing scores bringing his 2024 total to 42 touchdowns, Mayfield needs three total touchdowns to tie – and four to pass – Brady (45 in 2021) for the most total touchdowns in a single season.

When you consider the full picture of his 2024 season, Baker Mayfield has already managed to put together a statistical season that rivals those that Brady put up during his three-year tenure from 2020-2022. And that’s pretty special, especially for a guy who was cast to the side by the Browns and Panthers just a year before becoming a Buc.

Baker Mayfield Is On Pace To Become One Of The Bucs’ Best QBs Ever

There’s still one more game in the 2024 regular season for Baker Mayfield to finalize his stat line for the year, but even as it stands now, he is on track to become one of the best quarterbacks in franchise history in the coming years. Of course, he has to stay on the same pace that he’s set over the last two seasons, but by the end of the three-year contract he signed this past offseason, his numbers could be up there among the best the Bucs have ever seen.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Even without factoring in his yardage in Week 18, if Mayfield keeps pace with his last two seasons over the next two seasons, he’ll have 16,646 passing yards by the end of the 2026 season. That would be the second-most in Bucs history, trailing only Jameis Winston’s 19,737, which he compiled over five seasons.

At his current passing touchdown pace, Mayfield would have 134 after four seasons with the team, which would crush Winston’s franchise record of 121.

Mayfield has 750 completions over two seasons with the Bucs thus far, so if he can average 375 over 2025 and 2026, he’d have 1,500 by the end of his current contract. That would be the second-most in team history, ahead of the 1,376 Tom Brady compiled between 2020 and 2022.

There are a lot of “ifs” to these numbers and plenty of factors will play into what Mayfield can do in the coming years. Health is always one, but whether the Bucs are able to retain offensive coordinator Liam Coen – or whether they’re able to find a good replacement for him should he depart for a head coaching job – will play a role in the quarterback’s success, too.

For now, it’s still worth appreciating the greatness of Mayfield’s first two seasons with the Bucs. From being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 Draft to being down and out in 2022 to being a true franchise quarterback in 2024, it’s been quite the journey for Tampa Bay’s No. 6.