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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Is it safe to say Baker Mayfield will get a far better contract than Geno Smith? More importantly, has he finally earned the franchise QB tag in Tampa?

ANSWER: I’m not sure Baker Mayfield will get a far better contract than Geno Smith. I think he could get a slight bump over the three-year, $75 million deal that Smith signed, though. Remember, Smith was a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2022 and was also the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. Smith’s stat line in 2022 featured a 69.8% completion percentage with 4,282 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while winning nine games and getting Seattle into the playoffs.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Mayfield’s 2023 stat line was close, as he completed 64.3% of his passes for 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. I think a similar, three-year deal for Mayfield, who turns 29 in April, would be ideal for both he and the Bucs. If I’m Tampa Bay, I’m also drafting another quarterback after the first round and developing him behind Mayfield for the future. I’m not sure Kyle Trask is an NFL starting-caliber QB because he hasn’t shown me enough yet to draw that conclusion.

And when you say “franchise QB tag” I think you mean that he can be called the Bucs’ face of the franchise on offense rather than Tampa Bay using the franchise tag on Mayfield prior to free agency. Yes, there is no doubt that Mayfield has won over the locker room, the coaching staff, the front office and now the Bucs’ fan base. His enthusiasm is infectious and he’s become a fan favorite with each win he’s delivered in Tampa Bay.

QUESTION: This team is so much more enjoyable to watch than last year’s. Is it Baker Mayfield, is it the young guys, or combination of both?

ANSWER: Yes, it’s a combination. There is no doubt that Baker Mayfield has been fun to watch this year, especially down the stretch as the Bucs have ripped off wins in six of their last seven games. His perfect outing in terms of QB rating in a 34-20 win at Green Bay was a thing of beauty to watch. And at home, his 337-yard, three-touchdown game against Philadelphia in the Wild Card win was so fun to watch. Plus, Mayfield’s energy and swagger has rubbed off on the team and the fan base.

Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby and DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht and the front office scouts have done a great job of stockpiling this team with a lot of young talent. As I wrote in last Friday’s SR’s Fab 5 column, there are 10 Bucs starters out of the last two draft classes alone when you count No. 3 receiver Trey Palmer as a starter. That’s an absolutely exceptional track record for any general manager, and it’s those young Bucs players who have contributed mightily to Tampa Bay’s NFC South division championship and playoff run this year.

There are a lot of fun, up-and-coming young players to get excited about, including a pair of rookies in defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and outside linebacker YaYa Diaby. These two young defenders will only get better in time and I think they are on their way to becoming fan favorites with each big play they make.

QUESTION: Scott, I think we should make sure Dave Canales stays here and will become head coach in 2025 no matter what happens in 2024. We need to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere else by doing what the Patriots did with Jerod Mayo’s contract by giving Canales assurance of becoming the eventual head coach in Tampa. Your opinion?

ANSWER: I am a big fan of Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales. I think he is an elite communicator and has tremendous leadership qualities. Even from the podium during his press conferences, he has a “believable” quality to him. When he speaks, you believe what he says and buy in to him – whether he’s talking to fans and the media or his players and fellow coaches. That is an exceptional and rare trait.

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The 42-year old Canales is also a humble, positive coach, who is getting better and better as a play-caller as he gets more experience. Todd Bowles marvels at his ability to learn quickly and not make the same mistake twice. He’s already gotten an inquiry to interview for the Panthers head coaching job, which I believe will happen this week or next week.

I don’t think Canales is ready to be a head coach now, as he’s just learning how to call plays, and I believe he realizes that too. My guess is that he’ll follow in Ben Johnson’s footsteps. Last year, the Lions offensive coordinator was receiving interest from teams to be a head coach in 2023, but he turned down opportunities to finish the job in Detroit this year. Canales wants to stay in Tampa and gain more seasoning and experience to better prepare for being a head coach and become one when he feels he’s ready.

Will he succeed Todd Bowles as you suggest? I’m not sure how long the 60-year old Bowles wants to coach for, but it would be ideal for him to hand off the job to Canales the way Bruce Arians handed the Bucs over to Bowles in 2022. Will that happen over the next few years? I’m not sure, and I’m not sure Canales won’t be a head coach next year – or by 2025 at the latest. Canales’ charisma will get him a head coaching job somewhere in the league sooner rather than later.

QUESTION: So has the heat been turned off on Todd Bowles after the Bucs handily disposed of the mighty Eagles?

ANSWER: Yes, without question. As I wrote about in my 2-Point Conversion post-game column on Tuesday morning, Todd Bowles will undoubtedly be the Bucs head coach in 2024 after that 32-9 playoff win against the Eagles. He certainly deserves to be, especially after the impressive defensive performance he scripted.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

The Glazers and general manager Jason Licht wanted to see the Bucs’ record improve this year, and they wanted to see if Bowles had what it takes to win in the playoffs as a head coach. Tampa Bay won the NFC South again with a 9-8 record, which is a one-win improvement over a year ago. And after losing last year’s home playoff game, 31-14, against the Cowboys, Bowles and the Bucs hammered the Eagles on Monday night.

The Bucs would love to see Bowles and the team take a step forward next year as well, and improve his overall record of 17-17 in the regular season. But given the fact that he’s kept the Bucs in playoff mode and atop the NFC South despite a very young roster with a dozen rookies on it, and a team that had to shop at the discount store while absorbing nearly $80 million in dead cap money, Bowles has done a masterful job this year.

The fact that his steady hand has helped Tampa Bay win six of its last seven games is a testament to how good of a head coach he’s become.

QUESTION: What is your most memorable Buccaneers game that you’ve ever attended in person, and what was it about that game?

ANSWER: The most memorable Bucs game for me was Super Bowl LV in Tampa. It was just so surreal because it was at Raymond James Stadium. I had been to other Super Bowls before – even at Ray-Jay – but the Bucs vs. Chiefs Super Bowl was weird because on one hand it felt like just another Bucs home game in the press box, and on the other hand it was the Super Bowl.

Mark Cook’s final Bucs game – Super Bowl LV

The game featured Tom Brady in his first year in Tampa Bay and what would be his last Super Bowl, along with the great Patrick Mahomes. I love defense, and the job that Todd Bowles and his unit did in keeping the Chiefs out of the end zone was extraordinary. An absolute masterpiece. It’s a shame it took place during the pandemic because all of the post-game interviews were done via Zoom, and the stadium was only about half full due to social distancing rules that were put in place. But what an amazing win for the Buccaneers.

I’ll also remember that game because it was the last Bucs game the late great Mark Cook attended before he passed away on August 12 at the way-too-early age of 50. I had been friends with Cook since I interned at Buccaneer Magazine during the summer of 1994 and had worked with him for over a decade.

Pewter Report only had two seats in the press box, but we had one seat outside in the lower level in the auxiliary press area. I asked him where he wanted to sit, and since Cook had been a Bucs fan since 1977, he said he wanted to sit outside and soak up the atmosphere. He chose wisely and was amid the confetti as it rained down after Tampa Bay’s victory. I think about Cookie nearly every day and really miss him.

QUESTION: Can you see a scenario where Ryan Jensen gets let go and is brought back if he’s ready to play and wants to continue playing? Seems like he loves Baker Mayfield and vise versa. It would be sweet to have Jensen back.

Ryan Jensen and run game coordinator Harold Goodwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Unfortunately I really can’t see a scenario in which Ryan Jensen returns. He has already restructured his contract so that he will be released in the offseason, so I don’t think there is any turning back at this point.

Jensen hasn’t played in two full years now, and will be 33 in May. Players typically don’t play better as they age into their 30s, and I don’t think Jensen’s knee will ever allow him to play again. He’s lost a significant amount of cartilage in his knee and it’s just about at the stage where it’s bone on bone. Jensen tried to return to practice last summer but the pain was unbearable just after a light practice and he was unable to practice during back-to-back days.

Jensen has been using stem cell injections to try to regrow the cartilage in his knee, but to no avail. Some have wondered why he didn’t have surgery on his wrecked knee after his injury happened, but his ligaments actually healed without it. No surgery would have allowed the cartilage to regenerate anyways. It’s just unfortunate because Jensen had developed into a Pro Bowl player at age 31 and he still had two or three years of really quality play in him if that injury hadn’t happened.

QUESTION: Great win! But the postseason isn’t over and there’s no way the Bucs should be satisfied with one playoff win. We were pretty bad in third down conversions against the Lions earlier in the season, but is there somewhere else you think we need to improve to beat the Lions?

ANSWER: Yes, I think the Bucs need to do two things to beat the Lions – one on each side of the ball. Offensively, Tampa Bay can’t leave any meat on the bone. The Bucs had a would-be touchdown to Mike Evans negated when Baker Mayfield’s pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage in the first half of the Week 6 game against Detroit. The play was schemed up perfectly and Evans was wide open.

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Also, Mayfield missed Trey Palmer twice on deep ball shots versus the Lions. The rookie wide receiver had gotten behind the defense and could have scored two long touchdowns that could have dramatically altered the outcome.

Even against the Eagles while the Bucs were rolling up 426 yards and scoring 30 points, there were plenty of yards and points left out on the field. Mike Evans dropped two long passes within the Eagles’ 5-yard line. Cade Otton dropped a touchdown in the end zone, forcing the Bucs to have to settle for a field goal, in addition to being wide open and dropping a pass across the middle. Rachaad White and Chase Edmonds also dropped passes out of the backfield. Tampa Bay can’t afford to miss opportunities for big plays in Detroit.

Defensively, Todd Bowles needs to figure out a way to beat Jared Goff, who is 2-0 in his last two starts against Tampa Bay. In three games versus Bowles’ defense, Goff has completed 114-of-163 passes (70%) for 1,246 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. In a Week 6 win over the Bucs, Goff completed 68% of his passes for 353 yards with two TDs and no INTs. The Bucs need to sack and pressure Goff, and find a way to create some takeaways.