Report: Buccaneers Have Evaluated Browns QB Baker Mayfield

With seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady retiring earlier this offseason, the Buccaneers are once again in the quarterback market just two years after signing the greatest signal-caller of all-time.

While it is still unclear which direction Tampa Bay will go at quarterback in 2022, the franchise continues to evaluate the landscape across the league, including free agent options, draft options, quarterbacks already on the roster and potential trade candidates.

One quarterback that the Buccaneers have reportedly evaluated is Browns starter Baker Mayfield, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Mayfield, whose fifth-year option on his rookie contract was exercised last fall, is entering the final year of his deal. The Browns have yet to extend him, and it is unclear if they are willing to do so given his recent rash of injuries and up-and-down play.

The Browns have been reported as a potential landing spot for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, whose trade market is heating up following the grand jury’s decision to not press charges on nine criminal complaints of sexual assault.

If Watson does indeed move to Cleveland, Mayfield’s market would undoubtedly heat up, and if that’s the case, Tampa Bay would be a logical spot with the quality of the roster that is returning. The Buccaneers remain a contender in the NFC, but much of their ceiling would depend on the type of quarterback that replaces Tom Brady.

Could Mayfield be that quarterback?