Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Baker Mayfield 'Not The Guy'?

Is the Buccaneers starting quarterback on the hot seat if things go south?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a fairytale start to the season. Their new offensive coordinator, Dave Canales, has led this team to a rather exciting start to the post-Tom Brady era. 

Brady's successor is Baker Mayfield, who was a free agency signing at the time, and, honestly, one of the cheaper signings available at the time. It was a low-risk, high-reward signing. Either Mayfield would return to his old form, the Heisman-winning, No. 1 overall pick, or he would remain the quarterback seen in years past when teams have given up on him.

Evidently, Mayfield has succeeded early in his Buccaneers tenure. They're 3-2 through five games, though coming off a bad loss to the Detroit Lions after their bye week. In the loss, the Buccaneers failed to reach the end zone, losing 20-6. 

READ MORE: Buccaneers Fans React To Rough Loss Against Lions

Before the loss, NBC Sports' NFL Insider Peter King was on Pro Football Talk with Matt Florio. In the conversation, King mentioned how Mayfield's role might not be so secure with the Buccaneers. 

“I think a bad game or two is not going to get anybody to think Jared Goff is not the guy for the Lions," King said. "A bad game or two by Mayfield would make people think, and I believe even internally people think, ‘Uh, maybe he’s not the guy.'”

Not only could one bad game ruin Mayfield's reputation with the Buccaneers, but it'll take plenty of good games to secure a long-term role in Tampa. 

“This is not necessarily about Baker Mayfield proving in Week 6 that he’s the long-term quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers," King said. "He’s gotta stack a lot of really good games together for them to not be looking for a quarterback this offseason. It’s very, very simple.”

READ MORE: Buccaneers' Quarterback Baker Mayfield Injury Update After X-Ray on Hand

When Brady announced his retirement for the second time, people were under the understanding that the Buccaneers would be in the market for a new franchise quarterback and hit the reset button, though that's not how they approached it. Holding off another year before trying to do so isn't quite out of the cards, though.

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READ MORE: Tristan Wirfs Unwilling to Trade Buccaneers Jersey After Lions Loss

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