Getty Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there is nothing to complain about with Baker Mayfield. He signed on for a near-impossible job—taking over for Tom Brady—and responded by having one of the best years of his career, leading the Buccaneers on a wild ride that has taken them into a first-round home matchup against the badly struggling Eagles.
But in the last two weeks, it has been clear that Mayfield is not exactly healthy. His numbers reflect that. The Bucs lost to the Saints in Week 17 and were carried by the defense in the Week 18 win over the Panthers, by a paltry 9-0 score.
And for former coach Mike Martz, who led the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2001, there is a good deal of reason to be concerned about Mayfield. “He’s regressed a little bit,” Martz said, speaking on the 33rd Team website. “And I am sure it is from the injuries. He’s hurting.”
Martz had a warning for the Buccaneers: Get Mayfield back up to speed, and fast.
“They did a lot of good things with him,” Martz said. “I know he has been banged up, he got hurt a little bit. But in the last two weeks, he hasn’t played very well. When I watched him today, it bothered me because he didn’t look like he did three or four weeks ago. He’s really slow. He’s making decisions as he is dropping back and you can’t do that as a quarterback. You can’t do that. It shocked me a little bit.”
Baker Mayfield Dealing With Rib & Ankle Injuries
No doubt, injury has something to do with this. In Weeks 15 and 16, Mayfield was sterling, throwing for 664 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions and a 141.2 rating. In Weeks 17 and 18, he threw for 446 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and an 82.0 rating.
He had a rib injury in Week 17. In Week 18, Dr. Tom Christ, an orthopedic specialist, highlighted and ankle injury Mayfield suffered while being sacked by the Panthers. “Baker Mayfield, hard to see, but it looks like a defender’s knee lands right on Baker’s right foot/ankle. Clearly not having a good time walking, as his right stance time is shortened to offload the injury,” he posted on Twitter/X.
Baker Mayfield #gobucs
Hard to see, but it looks like a defenders knee lands right on Bakers right foot/ankle. Clearly not having a good time walking, as his right stance time is shortened to offload the injury. May impact throw power/mobility. One to watch
And that feeds into one of the complaints that Martz had about Mayfield’s performance—that he was overly concerned about protection and was making decisions about where he was throwing before he allowed the play to develop. That was, perhaps, because he was worried about the ankle.
Buccaneers Need to Speed Up Offense
Here is how Martz saw it: “Watching Baker Mayfield, he is trying to read things—you have to get set quickly, let things materialize, then make a decision and go. You’re gonna make some mistakes. They just got too doggone impatient trying to take the ball down the field in this game. They haven’t played well on offense in the last two weeks, which is disconcerting. He’s better than that.”
Rather than seeking to challenge defenses down the field, and deciding he’s going to make those throws before he sees the D set up, Mayfield needs to be patient and get himself set up—bad ankle and all—before making smart, quick throws.
“When they let him come out and throw the ball quickly, slants, some option routes, he really excels. Kind of get him going a little bit,” Martz said. “He’s had such a terrific year. I think the arrow’s up for him.”