Again, Jason Licht and I are not saying we don’t want Baker. We are just telling you we are waiting to sign him to another contract until the 2026 season plays out
Maybe you are right but I think people are seriously not considering that this Bucs team is making a lot of decisions lately based on the cap. A first round rookie QB gives this team a lot of wiggle room to add more talent for a window to compete. Signing Baker to a 5 year deal may not be what this team wants to be able to stack more talent and are looking at a 3 year deal again. It is possible Baker and his agent do not want to do another 3 year deal. If you think about it maybe Licht wants to make a deal happen this year but for 3 years like everyone else has said.
To be honest the Glazers always have had the GMs and bean counters in the Bucs FO structure contracts with roster bonuses to make up for the lack of upfront signing bonuses being pro rated over longer contracts so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
Bottom line is that a QB on a first round rookie contract allows you to buy some serious talent on a cheap rookie deal. In the absence of a superior coaching staff you need talent to compete and the Bucs look like they are stuck in the middle right now like the 2000s. Addition of Gruden helped as a coach but the Bucs also added talent to a squad that was too hyper focused on the draft or signing some splash free agents.
This is what bother me with what Licht has done as you can definitely sign a guard that is better than Bredeson on the cheap before the draft or even after the cuts this year. Or, a LB that can compete with the current crew or a boundary CB that can be at least a 3 or 4 on the depth chart. The history of this team is full of late additions to improve the overall talent of this roster.
I just think it is pointless to believe that Mayfield is going to magically become this consistent QB that gives you top five play like we saw in 2024. To me Baker is closer to a fringe or top 15 QB which is good enough to win with but not enough to carry a team. This is why I wouldn't dismiss this team using a first round pick on a QB again.
Again, Jason Licht and I are not saying we don’t want Baker. We are just telling you we are waiting to sign him to another contract until the 2026 season plays out
Maybe you are right but I think people are seriously not considering that this Bucs team is making a lot of decisions lately based on the cap. A first round rookie QB gives this team a lot of wiggle room to add more talent for a window to compete. Signing Baker to a 5 year deal may not be what this team wants to be able to stack more talent and are looking at a 3 year deal again. It is possible Baker and his agent do not want to do another 3 year deal. If you think about it maybe Licht wants to make a deal happen this year but for 3 years like everyone else has said.
To be honest the Glazers always have had the GMs and bean counters in the Bucs FO structure contracts with roster bonuses to make up for the lack of upfront signing bonuses being pro rated over longer contracts so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
Bottom line is that a QB on a first round rookie contract allows you to buy some serious talent on a cheap rookie deal. In the absence of a superior coaching staff you need talent to compete and the Bucs look like they are stuck in the middle right now like the 2000s. Addition of Gruden helped as a coach but the Bucs also added talent to a squad that was too hyper focused on the draft or signing some splash free agents.
This is what bother me with what Licht has done as you can definitely sign a guard that is better than Bredeson on the cheap before the draft or even after the cuts this year. Or, a LB that can compete with the current crew or a boundary CB that can be at least a 3 or 4 on the depth chart. The history of this team is full of late additions to improve the overall talent of this roster.
I just think it is pointless to believe that Mayfield is going to magically become this consistent QB that gives you top five play like we saw in 2024. To me Baker is closer to a fringe or top 15 QB which is good enough to win with but not enough to carry a team. This is why I wouldn't dismiss this team using a first round pick on a QB again.
solid post! No doubt bakers camp will want his “retirement contract” so shooting for 5 years
and Bucs are in a lame duck year almost with Bowles so the flexibility is likely where their head is at
All that said, I think it’s more likely than not that Baker is suiting up for us again in 2027!
baker would have repeated his 2024 dominance in 2025, do you think he’d still not extended here in May 2026?
logically speaking it doesn't follow that accepting your hypothetical above = not extended yet because of 2025 play, especially when they fired the OC etc
I think you get that but since you keep pushing the "not extended because of 2025 play" thought to mention the leap
So a non answer or are you saying 80 + touchdowns in 2 years and they are letting him play the final year here similar to current status?
baker would have repeated his 2024 dominance in 2025, do you think he’d still not extended here in May 2026?
logically speaking it doesn't follow that accepting your hypothetical above = not extended yet because of 2025 play, especially when they fired the OC etc
I think you get that but since you keep pushing the "not extended because of 2025 play" thought to mention the leap
So a non answer or are you saying 80 + touchdowns in 2 years and they are letting him play the final year here similar to current status?
Saying your argument is illogical is not a non-answer lmao, its saying its most likely wrong because you're working from your premise backwards.
Your premise ("not extended yet because of 2025 play") is not supported by the idea that he would be extended already if he had played out of this world in 2025 because he did not and so the team is in entirely different position. Creating an extreme hypothetical doesn't mean your own take is correct, right? Seems obvious.
AND there are also external reasons why he may not have been extended yet in 2025. Those external reasons have been posted here. You've actually dismissed at least one - the cash budget - so you know they are there. Each one of thsoe extrenal factors undercuts your take on Mayfield's play, which is already hilariously contorted by you to be "11 games in 2025."
Anyway, those EXTERNAL FACTORS have been discussed by PR as recently as this morning :
"Here are some rough estimates for how much each player will likely command per year on a new deal.
Baker Mayfield: $50-52 million per year
Yaya Diaby: $23-25 million per year
Cody Mauch: $14-17 million per year
Vita Vea: $15-18 million per year
Chase McLaughlin: $5.5-7 million per year
If the Bucs want to keep all five of those players, they will need to dish out $107.5 million on the low end. Unless the Glazers make a significant change in their cash spending habits, they won’t be able to keep all five. Here’s how I’d handle each, in the order I’d address them.
* * *
3. Mayfield is the most important to the team. But a market-value extension would require an extra $10 million in cash. That would break the Glazers’ spending habits. I’m not saying they won’t do it this offseason. Just that I see it as more likely to be priority No. 1 for the 2027 offseason.
And the Bucs have the franchise tag in their back pockets. This year’s tag was less than $44 million, and the quarterback market has stalled over the last 24 months. Tampa Bay has legitimate control over Mayfield past this year as a security blanket that gives them ample time to get a deal done. The realistic path is to let 2026 play out and use the franchise tag as a safety net to get the long-term extension in place before he plays a single snap in 2027."
Again, Jason Licht and I are not saying we don’t want Baker. We are just telling you we are waiting to sign him to another contract until the 2026 season plays out
Maybe you are right but I think people are seriously not considering that this Bucs team is making a lot of decisions lately based on the cap. A first round rookie QB gives this team a lot of wiggle room to add more talent for a window to compete. Signing Baker to a 5 year deal may not be what this team wants to be able to stack more talent and are looking at a 3 year deal again. It is possible Baker and his agent do not want to do another 3 year deal. If you think about it maybe Licht wants to make a deal happen this year but for 3 years like everyone else has said.
To be honest the Glazers always have had the GMs and bean counters in the Bucs FO structure contracts with roster bonuses to make up for the lack of upfront signing bonuses being pro rated over longer contracts so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
Bottom line is that a QB on a first round rookie contract allows you to buy some serious talent on a cheap rookie deal. In the absence of a superior coaching staff you need talent to compete and the Bucs look like they are stuck in the middle right now like the 2000s. Addition of Gruden helped as a coach but the Bucs also added talent to a squad that was too hyper focused on the draft or signing some splash free agents.
This is what bother me with what Licht has done as you can definitely sign a guard that is better than Bredeson on the cheap before the draft or even after the cuts this year. Or, a LB that can compete with the current crew or a boundary CB that can be at least a 3 or 4 on the depth chart. The history of this team is full of late additions to improve the overall talent of this roster.
I just think it is pointless to believe that Mayfield is going to magically become this consistent QB that gives you top five play like we saw in 2024. To me Baker is closer to a fringe or top 15 QB which is good enough to win with but not enough to carry a team. This is why I wouldn't dismiss this team using a first round pick on a QB again.
solid post! No doubt bakers camp will want his “retirement contract” so shooting for 5 years
and Bucs are in a lame duck year almost with Bowles so the flexibility is likely where their head is at
All that said, I think it’s more likely than not that Baker is suiting up for us again in 2027!
The Rams jumped at a chance to take a rookie QB on a first round contract. Bottom line is that there is a lot of leverage to build talent around a QB with a rookie first round deal which can not be discounted.
From my view I think they should have done a deal with Mayfield this year to be able to have more flex to sign talent next season. But right now it looks like they are cramming all these decisions into 2026 which will force their hand as a Bucs organization. And there is no guarantees that Bowles is gone next year either.
so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
It's not overblown when it's factual.
Whether or not you agree with the process is irrelevant.
And there is no guarantees that Bowles is gone next year either.
If he’s gone next year it will be his choice. Too much talent from an offensive coaching perspective and new defensive talent for Tampa not to compete with every team they play. Unless Baker goes down, Tampa is a viable as any team.
baker would have repeated his 2024 dominance in 2025, do you think he’d still not extended here in May 2026?
logically speaking it doesn't follow that accepting your hypothetical above = not extended yet because of 2025 play, especially when they fired the OC etc
I think you get that but since you keep pushing the "not extended because of 2025 play" thought to mention the leap
So a non answer or are you saying 80 + touchdowns in 2 years and they are letting him play the final year here similar to current status?
Saying your argument is illogical is not a non-answer lmao, its saying its most likely wrong because you're working from your premise backwards.
Your premise ("not extended yet because of 2025 play") is not supported by the idea that he would be extended already if he had played out of this world in 2025 because he did not and so the team is in entirely different position. Creating an extreme hypothetical doesn't mean your own take is correct, right? Seems obvious.
AND there are also external reasons why he may not have been extended yet in 2025. Those external reasons have been posted here. You've actually dismissed at least one - the cash budget - so you know they are there. Each one of thsoe extrenal factors undercuts your take on Mayfield's play, which is already hilariously contorted by you to be "11 games in 2025."
Anyway, those EXTERNAL FACTORS have been discussed by PR as recently as this morning :
"Here are some rough estimates for how much each player will likely command per year on a new deal.
Baker Mayfield: $50-52 million per year
Yaya Diaby: $23-25 million per year
Cody Mauch: $14-17 million per year
Vita Vea: $15-18 million per year
Chase McLaughlin: $5.5-7 million per yearIf the Bucs want to keep all five of those players, they will need to dish out $107.5 million on the low end. Unless the Glazers make a significant change in their cash spending habits, they won’t be able to keep all five. Here’s how I’d handle each, in the order I’d address them.
* * *
3. Mayfield is the most important to the team. But a market-value extension would require an extra $10 million in cash. That would break the Glazers’ spending habits. I’m not saying they won’t do it this offseason. Just that I see it as more likely to be priority No. 1 for the 2027 offseason.
And the Bucs have the franchise tag in their back pockets. This year’s tag was less than $44 million, and the quarterback market has stalled over the last 24 months. Tampa Bay has legitimate control over Mayfield past this year as a security blanket that gives them ample time to get a deal done. The realistic path is to let 2026 play out and use the franchise tag as a safety net to get the long-term extension in place before he plays a single snap in 2027."
if you had to guess. baker throws 40 TDs last year. Is he already under contract for 2027 by this point in offseason?
yes or No.
and it’s an easy answer but it will totally checkmate this whole debate
And there is no guarantees that Bowles is gone next year either.
If he’s gone next year it will be his choice. Too much talent from an offensive coaching perspective and new defensive talent for Tampa not to compete with every team they play. Unless Baker goes down, Tampa is a viable as any team.
If Bucs don’t make playoffs and have a losing record, I think Bowles has to be done
i say don’t make playoffs because could see this being another 8-9 record takes division year
so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
It's not overblown when it's factual.
Whether or not you agree with the process is irrelevant.
It is overblown because it gives Licht an out when all other GMs have had to navigate this which is just weasel words that PR staff is using lately and I am not buying it. Not giving Licht an out if he keeps handing contracts out like the one he gave to McCollum over and over again.
so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
It's not overblown when it's factual.
Whether or not you agree with the process is irrelevant.
It is overblown because it gives Licht an out when all other GMs have had to navigate this which is just weasel words that PR staff is using lately and I am not buying it.
Again, you don’t have to buy it.
But, it’s not an opinion. It’s facts.
It’s also why there will be some tough (and most likely fan opposed) decisions next offseason.
so I think that cash argument is overblown lately by PR staff and others.
It's not overblown when it's factual.
Whether or not you agree with the process is irrelevant.
It is overblown because it gives Licht an out when all other GMs have had to navigate this which is just weasel words that PR staff is using lately and I am not buying it. Not giving Licht an out if he keeps handing contracts out like the one he gave to McCollum over and over again.
Well, which one is it?
In the first instance you were saying the cash budget is not real. Now you seem to be saying it is real but Licht has mismanaged it? If he mismanaged the cash budget then the cash budget is real.
It would not surprise me to see Bowles get another extension IF . . . (huge "IF") . . .
. .. he took the team to the playoffs in 2026 and especially so if they did so without a midseason slide, 10 wins, successful use of Trotter or Scott, Morrison etc. I am not saying that happens. I sort of agree with the prediction of EMD at 6 wins, but could become more with some health, luck etc. BUT, I think its at least possible Bowles gets extended again with a very positive outcome in 2026 because he has so much support from the influential football people inside OBP. And one of his biggest supporters is getting more influential, not less:
"Former Bucs linebacker Shelton Quarles is going on 20 years as a member of the front office staff, and his promotion from senior director to vice president of football operations headlined Thursday’s announcement."
This was Quarles back in March:
“He is the most prepared person that I’ve been around,” Quarles said of Bowles. “… He is the most intelligent person from the defensive perspective.”
“Like he’s unbelievable,” Quarles continued. “I enjoy the conversations that we have at 4:30, 5 in the morning before everybody else gets in. So, just stick with him, believe in him, trust in what he’s doing, trust in what he’s building. He’s unbelievable in regards to football knowledge.”
He is the most prepared person that I’ve been around,” Quarles said of Bowles. “
LOL!!!!!!
Shelton absolutely embarrassing himself with this bullshit.