The more exciting periods of the Bucs offseason are over with, as pre-draft scouting, free agency, the draft, OTAs and mini-camps are over. That means it’s time to settle in for what feels like the longest of waits before training camp gets underway in late July.

The dog days of the NFL offseason are all about storylines for the upcoming season. Media and fans alike spend the days of June and July passing the time with discourse surrounding all sorts of rankings, as well as the big stories that are bound to come up when the season begins in September.

So, with that in mind, the idea here is to narrow in on some of the Bucs’ biggest stars and go player-by-player to dive into the big storylines that are in store for the 2024 season. Today, we start with Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Bucs Storylines: Baker Mayfield

Here are three big storylines surrounding Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield in 2024:

Will Baker Mayfield Pay Off The Bucs’ Faith In Him?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Scott Reynolds/PR

For the first time in his NFL career, Mayfield can feel like he has a secure home. Yes, he was drafted by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 and spent four years in Cleveland, but the team wasted no time in shipping him off before his fifth-year option season in 2022. The Browns replaced him with Deshaun Watson, trading three first-round picks for him while guaranteeing him $230 million (how’s that been working out over the last two years, by the way?). With that, Mayfield was forced into a new home.

The former Heisman Trophy winner was traded to Carolina in 2022, where things quickly didn’t work out. He then finished out that season with the Rams after being claimed off waivers, and that set the tone for him to head into 2023 with a chance to reestablish himself as a reliable starting quarterback in the NFL. He did exactly that, joining the Bucs on a one-year prove-it deal and ultimately winning the starting job. He threw for more than 4,000 yards, totaled 29 touchdowns, helped Tampa Bay three-peat as NFC South champions, then led the team to a playoff win. Mayfield then made the Pro Bowl as a replacement and went on to win Offensive MVP in Orlando.

This offseason, the Bucs rewarded Mayfield with a new three-year, $100 million contract. The 29-year-old and his family have some security now and can truly settle in and call Tampa home. But that doesn’t mean Mayfield will get too comfortable, as the onus is now on him to pay off the team’s faith in him. He’s the unquestioned leader on offense now and is firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, and he’ll now have to live up to his new multi-year contract by playing more consistent football and helping the Bucs keep their division title and playoff streaks alive in 2024.

Can Baker Mayfield Build On His Bounce-Back 2023 Season?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

What Tampa Bay got from Mayfield in 2023 was some serious value. The sixth-year quarterback signed a one-year deal last March and even with the incentives that he earned by the end of the season, that deal paid him under $7 million. That’s crazy bang-for-your-buck when you consider the NFL starting quarterback market and the numbers – and wins – he put up. Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions while running for 163 yards and another score. He led the team to a 9-8 record, an NFC South title and a Wild Card win over Philadelphia.

So, now that Mayfield parlayed that Comeback Player of the Year-type season into a three-year contract with the Bucs, the question is this: Can he build upon what he did in 2023? As good as his numbers ultimately were last season and as impressive as it was for Tampa Bay to go from written off to nine wins, a division title and an NFC Divisional Round appearance, No. 6 could’ve been better – and more consistent.

In 2024, Mayfield will need fewer clunkers than he had in his first season in red and pewter. In other words, he needs to be more of the player he was in December and less of the up-and-down performer he was for much of October and November. The familiarity Mayfield has with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen should help, as should the stability of being the Bucs’ starting quarterback. Another 4,000-yard, 25-to-35-touchdown season with fewer turnover-worthy plays should lead to more wins in 2024, and that should mean a fourth straight NFC South championship and a fifth consecutive playoff appearance for Tampa Bay.

Can Baker Mayfield Take The Bucs Deeper Into The Playoffs?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Of course, the first objective for Mayfield and the Bucs in 2024 will be to retain their spot atop the NFC South and extend the team’s NFC-best playoff streak to five seasons. But once that goal is accomplished, the next step is to make a deeper run in the postseason than they did in 2023. Winning the division at 9-8 and beating the Eagles at home in the Wild Card Round was a good building block last season, and as much as moral victories don’t play at this level, Tampa Bay was also in the game late against Detroit and wasn’t all that far from an improbable NFC Championship Game appearance.

But building blocks are useless if you don’t start to stack them together, and as the quarterback of the team, Mayfield has to shoulder a lot of the pressure of going even deeper into the playoffs in 2024. The fact remains that Tampa Bay’s quarterback has more playoff wins than every other quarterback in the division combined. He won one in Cleveland and then earned another last year with Tampa Bay, whereas Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins has one postseason win in his career (with Minnesota) and New Orleans’ Derek Carr and Carolina’s Bryce Young have zero.

Despite that, there’s also a narrative that Mayfield isn’t a quarterback who will win a team a Super Bowl – and that narrative will stick until he puts together a deep playoff run. It’ll help if he and the Bucs beat some of the top contenders during the regular season, whether that’s the Lions, Ravens, Chiefs or 49ers. But then there’s coming through in the clutch when the calendar turns to January. Mayfield may continue to have doubters until he plays consistently winning football and gets to the NFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl. If he takes the Bucs a step further in 2024, it would go a long way in cementing his status among the NFL’s top quarterbacks.