Quarterback · Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield
No. 6 · 9th season
Bowles says Baker's his guy. The paperwork says otherwise.
The coach is sure. The contract is not.
Todd Bowles has made it plain: he wants Baker Mayfield as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback going forward. No ambiguity there. Whatever conversations have happened behind closed doors, the man running the football side of things is not hedging.
But there is an unresolved business situation between Mayfield and the team, and a new deal has not come together. Bowles says it has not touched what happens on the field — that the football relationship is clean and the two sides are fine where it counts for Sundays.
That may be true. It usually is, until it isn't. A head coach vouching for a player is one thing; a signed contract is the thing that actually says someone is staying. Right now, Tampa has the endorsement without the paperwork to back it up.
What Mayfield makes of all this — whether the gap between the words and the offer is wearing on him at all — only he knows. Bowles seems confident it isn't. Worth watching to see if that holds.
“"Baker's a true pro," Bowles said. "I don't think there's any disappointment whatsoever. I mean, he loves it here. We love him here. The contract stuff takes care of itself, whether it's the quarterback or any other position that comes up -- those things get worked out over time."”
Content sourced from publicly available information. Gripd is an independent fan platform not affiliated with the NFL or any team.