Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to be linked to Baker Mayfield

Could Mayfield bridge the gap for the Buccaneers in 2023?

There is exactly one week remaining until free agency gets underway. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been preparing for the crucial point of the offseason by offloading cap space through the release of players such as running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Cameron Brate, and offensive tackle Donovan Smith.

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The Buccaneers enter free agency with just one quarterback under contract, former second-round pick Kyle Trask. While there is still some optimism that Trask can figure things out under a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the team can't afford to put all of its eggs in one basket.

There's an opportunity to find a new signal-caller in the draft but it's become apparent that Tampa Bay would have to trade up to land one of the four coveted prospects - Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson. That might not be worth the investment if it involves surrendering multiple draft picks.

That means the best path is likely finding a veteran in free agency to fill the gap. The options have slimmed out slightly over the last couple of days with Derek Carr signing with the Saints and Geno Smith electing to stick with Seattle. However, there are still some quality options available.

One player that the Buccaneers have been linked to over the last couple of weeks is former Browns star, Baker Mayfield. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco are the two teams that appear to be the most interested in Mayfield. Fowler noted that Drew Lock, who spent the 2022 season in Seattle, could be an option for the franchise as well.

"The Bucs and 49ers came up most often when I asked around about quarterback Baker Mayfield's market. Tampa Bay is looking at bringing in a veteran arm. Drew Lock, who was the backup in Seattle last year, is also an option there."

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft spent his first four seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Mayfield completed 1185/1924 of his passes (61.6%) for 14,125 passing yards with 92 touchdowns to 56 interceptions. He added five more scores on the ground.

The Browns dealt Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers in July after acquiring Deshaun Watson. He struggled during his tenure with the Panthers while dealing with multiple injuries. The team ended up releasing him and he was picked up by the Los Angeles Rams.

After taking over as the starting quarterback, Mayfield completed 63.6% of his passes for 850 passing yards with four touchdowns to two interceptions in four games. He led the Rams to a 98-yard game-winning drive against the Las Vegas Raiders in the final two minutes.

After reviving Geno Smith's career in Seattle, could Buccaneers' offensive coordinator Dave Canales do something similar with Mayfield?

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