Mayfield made significant progress in picking up the intricacies of new coordinator Liam Coen's offense throughout the offseason, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports. "There's a lot fewer mistakes and 'M.E.'s," said head coach Todd Bowles. "He has a lot more audibles on his plate than he did in the past and he's getting them down very [well]." Bowles' comments came in the midst of the mandatory minicamp the Buccaneers held earlier in June, following a particularly productive penultimate practice of the offseason in which Mayfield spread the ball around effectively. Mayfield has had plenty of opportunity to progressively get a handle on the offensive system, as he was also part of 10 voluntary OTA practices before minicamp. While there figures to be some additional growing pains with the offense, there will be multiple weeks of training camp and preseason games for Mayfield and a top quartet of incumbent pass catchers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Trey Palmer and Cade Otton to continue building chemistry within it.
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Mayfield made significant progress in picking up the intricacies of new coordinator Liam Coen's offense throughout the offseason, Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' official site reports. "There's a lot fewer mistakes and 'M.E.'s," said head coach Todd Bowles. "He has a lot more audibles on his plate than he did in the past and he's getting them down very [well]." Bowles' comments came in the midst of the mandatory minicamp the Buccaneers held earlier in June, following a particularly productive penultimate practice of the offseason in which Mayfield spread the ball around effectively. Mayfield has had plenty of opportunity to progressively get a handle on the offensive system, as he was also part of 10 voluntary OTA practices before minicamp. While there figures to be some additional growing pains with the offense, there will be multiple weeks of training camp and preseason games for Mayfield and a top quartet of incumbent pass catchers in Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Trey Palmer and Cade Otton to continue building chemistry within it.
Mayfield agreed to terms on a three-year, $100 million deal with the Buccaneers on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Mayfield will remain with Tampa Bay as its presumptive starting quarterback for at least the next two years. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, The 28-year-old's new deal includes $50 million guaranteed with $30 million of which set to be paid in 2024 and $20 million set to be paid in 2025. This contract also includes $5 million per year in incentives, increasing its max value to $115 million. Mayfield originally signed with the squad in May of 2023 on a flier one-year deal worth $8.5 million. He went on to notch career highs in both passing yards (4,044) and passing touchdowns (28) while tossing just 10 interceptions across 17 regular-season starts, and he led the team to a NFC South Division championship and an apperance in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Star wideout Mike Evans also re-signed on a two-year, $52 million contract with Tampa Bay this offseason while standout slot receiver Chris Godwin also still has two years remaining on his current contract with the team. The retention of these two core receivers should provide Mayfield with a strong base of receiving talent heading into the 2024 campaign.
Mayfield is on track to become an unrestricted free agent March 13, with the Buccaneers having placed the franchise tag on Antoine Winfield on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Mayfield and Tampa Bay still have time to negotiate on an extension before free agency, but with Winfield having received the franchise tag and Mike Evans having been re-signed on a two-year, $52 million contract, the veteran quarterback is now the team's biggest looming question. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick is coming off a solid 2023 campaign in which he threw for a career-high 4,044 yards with a solid 28:10 TD, assisting the Buccaneers in securing a third-straight NFC South title plus an NFC Divisional Round cameo. It's been reported that Mayfield desires to remain in Tampa Bay, so he could be willing to agree to a team-friendly contract, but there are enough questions at quarterback around the NFL that the soon-to-be 29-year-old should be legitimately pursued by other teams if allowed to hit the open market.
Mayfield injured his ankle near the end of the Buccaneers' opening possession this past Sunday at Indianapolis, missing two snaps in the process. He was able to play with the ankle heavily taped thereafter on his way to 199 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 20-for-30 passing, three carries for 14 yards and two fumbles (one lost). On Monday, an MRI on Mayfield's ankle returned negative, and as of Wednesday, head coach Todd Bowles told Brianna Dix of the Buccaneers' official site that the quarterback felt much better and was in line to suit up Sunday against the Panthers. With a full listing on the team's first Week 13 practice report, Mayfield appears on pace to do exactly that, but it wouldn't surprise if he endures some on-field restrictions before week's end to manage the issue.
Mayfield suffered an ankle injury while nearly capping the Buccaneers' seven-minute-plus opening drive with a score on a one-yard quarterback sneak, and he ended up sitting out the next two plays while momentary fill-in Kyle Trask nearly tossed a touchdown to Chris Godwin. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports Mayfield's ankle was heavily taped upon his return for Tampa Bay's next possession, which ended with an interception by Ronnie Harrison. Mayfield went on to author his fourth two-touchdown effort in his last five contests with a pair of scoring tosses to Mike Evans, but he couldn't prevent his team's third straight loss. The veteran signal-caller will look to get Tampa Bay back in the win column in a favorable home matchup versus the Panthers in Week 13.
Mayfield injured his thumb during the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay's win over the Titans in Week 10, but the coaching staff examined him after the game and found no significant issues. The 2018 first-round pick will need to be at full strength versus San Francisco, a defense that just held Trevor Lawrence to under 200 yards with a 2:0 TD:INT, and Travis Etienne to just 44 yards from scrimmage. Mayfield has built up some momentum of his own, though, with six touchdowns and just one interception in his last three appearances.
Mayfield averaged a robust 9.6 yards per attempt and worked around some sacks to deliver another solid fantasy effort. The 2018 first overall pick found Mike Evans and Rachaad White for his two scoring tosses, extending his multi-touchdown streak to three games in the process. Mayfield also exceeded the 270-yard mark for the third time on the campaign, and although he continues to operate with a relatively narrow target pool, he's been a very good fit for coordinator Dave Canales' offense thus far. Mayfield's next assignment will be a stiff test, however, as the Buccaneers travel west to tangle with the 49ers in a Week 11 showdown.
Mayfield averaged an impressive 8.8 yards per attempt and remained free of interceptions for the fourth time this season while throwing a pair of touchdown passes for the second straight game. The 2018 first overall pick connected with tight end Cade Otton for both of his scoring tosses, which came from three and 14 yards out. Mayfield also narrowly missed a third touchdown on a perfectly thrown 53-yard pass early in the third quarter to Mike Evans on which the receiver was ultimately determined to be down at the one-yard line on replay review. Mayfield appeared to have led the Bucs to victory with his second touchdown to Otton with 46 seconds remaining before C.J. Stroud capped off a record-setting day with his own late scoring march for the Texans. Mayfield and his teammates will aim to atone for the disappointing loss in a Week 10 home matchup against the Titans.
The knee issue has presented some discomfort for Mayfield, but it didn't stop him from starting on a short week and completing 25 of 42 pass attempts for 237 yards and two touchdowns while adding 19 yards on three carries this past Thursday in the Buccaneers' 24-18 loss to the Bills. The Buccaneers still elected to send Mayfield in for an MRI, but with those tests revealing nothing concerning, the veteran signal-caller doesn't appear in danger of missing any time. With 10 days between their Week 8 and Week 9 game, the Buccaneers are hopeful the mini-bye week will allow Mayfield to heal up a bit and head into the matchup with Houston in better condition than he had been against the Bills.