Tom Brady saved the day after ending his brief retirement in March meaning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are once again Super Bowl contenders. Brady will be under center in Tampa for 2022, but there is plenty of speculation about what will happen with the quarterback next offseason.
Unless Brady signs another extension in the coming months, the star will be a free agent in 2023 when he could once again retire or sign with another team. Normally, the Bucs would have the franchise tag to use at their disposal, but Brady has a “no-tag clause” giving him ultimate control of his future, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
All this is why former NFL general manager turned ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum would “like to see” the Buccaneers make a move for Mayfield. Tannenbaum’s proposed trade has the Bucs sending a fourth-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Browns for Mayfield. Cleveland would also eat a good portion of Mayfield’s $18.8 million salary as part of the deal.
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Tampa Bay Could Pounce Given Mayfield’s Limited Trade Market
Mayfield’s obvious preference is to land with a team where he can be the starting quarterback. So far, franchises like the Panthers and Seahawks have shown no urgency to trade for Mayfield.
If the Browns signal-caller is going to end up being a backup in 2022, there is no more appealing option than sitting behind Tom Brady for a year. With plenty of uncertainty surrounding Brady’s future, this would put Mayfield back into a QB1 role as soon as 2023. Mayfield would also get a chance to resurrect his career while learning from one of the all-time greats.
“Let Baker sit for a year and learn as much wisdom from Tom Brady and Byron Leftwich as possible,” Tannenbaum explained for The 33rd Team. “Let him use this season as an investment in his future and take in all the gifts that Tom has to give in terms of professionalism and preparation. This would be very similar to what Mitch Trubisky did this past season with Buffalo.
“Cleveland would have to eat most of Mayfield’s contract for this trade to happen due to the cap space situation in Tampa. The Buccaneers currently have $3.955M in cap space (per OverTheCap). Baker has shown flashes of great and poor over the past two seasons having the 12th-most Big Time Throws (51, per PFF) and the 10th-most turnover worthy plays (37) minimum 100 dropbacks.”
The Bucs Were Linked to Mayfield Prior to Brady’s Un-Retirement
Prior to Brady rejoining the Buccaneers, the team had some level of interest in pursuing a deal for Mayfield. Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reported that Mayfield was one of eight quarterbacks Tampa Bay evaluated as potential options.
“There are about eight QBs the Bucs evaluated on film, some in case they became available for a trade,” Stroud tweeted on March 11. “Let’s be clear, doesn’t mean they would pursue something but Baker Mayfield is one of those guys. Cleveland reportedly has some interest in Deshaun Watson.”
Perhaps Brady will play another five seasons in a Bucs uniform and the legendary quarterback joining the Dolphins is just “chatter” as general manager Jason Licht indicated. Yet, the Bucs just received a brief glimpse into what life after Brady will be like, and the team had no clear-cut answer at quarterback. The team may indeed be high on Kyle Trask but snagging Mayfield for just a day-three draft pick is worth the gamble for Tampa.
Buccaneers Urged to Trade for Intriguing Quarterback by Ex-NFL GM