Rams Ex Baker Mayfield Signs Huge Three-Year Deal With Buccaneers - Tracker
MAR 10 MAYFIELD MAKES BANK It appears that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have found their long-term starting quarterback.
On Sunday, former Rams QB and current Buccaneers starter Baker Mayfield agreed on a three-year $100 million to remain in Tampa Bay.
The deal also comes with $50 million guaranteed, and he can earn up to $115 million in total with incentives.
Mayfield went 9-8 in his first season as the starter for Tampa Bay in 2023, completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns with 10 interceptions - all career highs.
FEB 6 STADIUM CHANGES SoFi Stadium - the home of the Los Angeles Rams - is set to get a facelift.
According to Rams COO Kevin Demoff, via the Associated Press, there are plans for SoFi to change permanent seating in the lower bowl of the stadium into retractable seating.
“It’s really just changing pre-cast concrete in the corners of the stadium to a more retractable system,” Demoff said. “We’ll have the exact same seating capacity, exact same format and layout. The only difference will be a few of the rows in the corners will be on retractable seating versus permanent seating.”
The change is being made in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, in order to alleviate concerns about field size during matches.
SoFi is set to host the U.S. Men's National Team's World Cup opener and host seven total matches, including two in the knockout round in the upcoming tournament.
The stadium renovations are expected to be finished before this summer, well in advance of next football season.
FEB 4 SOCCER AT SOFI As one of the premier sporting venues in the country, it is no surprise that SoFi Stadium is a desired location for big time events.
That will continue to be the case for the World Cup, with Los Angeles set to play host to the first match of the World Cup in the United States for the 2026 edition of the tournament. The game will be played on June 12 of that year.
Mexico City is set to host the first overall game of the Tournament on June 11 at Azteca Stadium.
In order to accommodate for the tournament, SoFi will have to install a new grass pitch, in substitute to the artificial turf it has now.
JAN 28 CALEY AND SPRINGER TO BEAN TOWN? The Los Angeles Rams coaching staff has been one of the most highly pursued in the NFL this offseason, with Zac Robinson and Raheem Morris already being hired for new positions.
However, they were also not the only assistants getting a look across the league.
According to reports, Rams special teams assistant Jeremy Springer and tight ends coach Nick Caley are both reportedly heading back to New England for their second interviews with the team under new head coach Jerod Mayo.
Caley will be interviewing for the offensive coordinator position for the Patriots, while Springer is in contention for the Special Teams coordinator spot.
The Rams tight ends were a critical part of the offense this past season, with Tyler Higbee and Davis Allen each playing key roles down the stretch of the team's run to the playoffs.
JAN 14 STAFFORD NO LOOK Matthew Stafford is known for being able to make some unorthodox throws throughout his career.
And in the Rams Wild Card matchup vs. the Lions in Detroit, he did it again, hitting tight end Davis Allen on a crazy no-look pass for six yards to avoid a sack.
Stafford is no stranger to making throws like this in big moments either, making a similar one to Cooper Kupp in Super Bowl LVI on the game's deciding drive.
The Rams currently trail the Lions 14-10 early in the second quarter.
JAN 12 PATS HIRE MAYO The New England Patriots have hired former linebacker and assistant coach Jared Mayo as the next head coach of the franchise to replace the legendary Bill Belichick after 24 seasons at the helm.
And with the hiring of Mayo, he has taken the title of the NFL's youngest head coach from Rams leader Sean McVay - who had held the distinction for the last seven years.
The Rams originally hired McVay when he was 30 years old back in 2017, following a three-season stint as the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator.
Mayo, who was born February 23, 1986, sits just one month younger than McVay, who was born January 24 of the same year.
JAN 8 RAMS WAIVE DEFENSIVE END The Los Angeles Rams made one small roster move on Monday, waiving defensive end Earnest Brown IV.
Brown, who turns 25 on Monday (he's probably had better birthdays), joined the Rams as a fifth-round pick out of Northwestern in 2021.
After not appearing at all in his rookie season, Brown started three of the five games he played in 2022, racking up nine total tackles. This season, he's appeared in seven games and totaled five total tackles, three of them coming in Sunday's win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams will likely make more roster moves ahead of Sunday's playoff opener against the Detroit Lions.
JAN 6 WILLIAMS IN While there will be players missing from the lineup for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's season finale against the Rams, veteran left tackle Trent Williams won't be one of them.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Friday that Williams will play, but it's not known how many snaps he'll see.
“I don’t think it’s good for anybody to take two weeks off,” Shanahan said earlier in the week. “You should see how Trent was when he came back after a month off or three weeks. It’s not good, but we’ll see how the game goes and everything. His mindset this week’s got to be that he is getting ready to play.”
JAN 3 KUPP AND DONALD OUT With a playoff berth already secured, the Los Angeles Rams are set to rest multiple starters on Sunday ahead of their Week 18 matchup vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
First, the team announced that quarterback Matthew Stafford would rest and backup Carson Wentz would start on Sunday.
And now, it appears that other starters are set to follow suit with running back Kyren Williams, receiver Cooper Kupp, and defensive lineman Aaron Donald all reportedly scheduled to miss the game on Sunday as well.
Williams and Kupp have missed four games with injuries this season, with Sunday set to be the fifth.
Donald, meanwhile, has played in all 16 games this season for Los Angeles, making 53 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 23 quarterback hits, and eight sacks.
DEC 31 WILLIAMS TIMES 2 Kyren Williams had already gotten in the end zone for the Rams in the first quarter vs. the Giants, giving him his tenth touchdown of the season on Sunday.
And early in the second half, he was at it again, rushing from two yards out for his second score of the game, putting the Rams up 20-10.
Williams now has 12 rushes for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the game, to go along with two catches for 14 yards.
DEC 12 RAMS CUT CROSBY The Los Angeles Rams have cut veteran kicker Mason Crosby from their practice squad, less than a week after his signing, the team announced.
The Rams also made three other roster moves on Tuesday, moving tight end Hunter Long and long snapper Alex Ward to injured reserve, and signing long snapper Carson Tinker.
Long was lost for the season with a knee injury in the Rams Sunday loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
DEC 10 RAMS LEAD The Los Angeles Rams have taken a late lead against the Baltimore Ravens on a clutch touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to DeMarcus Robinson with just under five minutes to go in the game.
The touchdown gave the Rams a 28-23 lead, after the failed two-point conversion.
It was Stafford's third touchdown pass of the day.
DEC 9 CROSBY ACTIVATED The Los Angeles Rams are making another change at the kicking position.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, the Rams are elevating former Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby from the practice squad.
Crosby played with the Packers in every game from 2007-22. He then signed with the Rams practice squad earlier this week and will look to make his debut with his new team on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. PT.
DEC 3 HIGBEE CONCUSSED The Rams could be down one of their top offensive weapons for the remainder of their Sunday matchup with the Browns.
Late in the third quarter, Rams tight end Tyler Higbee was knocked out of the game with an apparent head injury and is now being evaluated for a concussion.
Higbee, who had two catches for 35 yards at the time of the injury, is currently questionable to return.
NOV 19 WALKER OUT? The Seattle Seahawks have suffered a major setback vs. the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
On their first drive of the game, Seahawks star running back Kenneth Walker was knocked out of the game with an apparent lower-body injury during a carry up the middle.
Walker came up limping in the middle of the run, and dropped to the ground immediately.
After being taken to the injury tent, it was determined that Walker suffered an oblique injury, and would be doubtful to return.
Walker has been replaced in the lineup by backup running back Zach Charbonnet.
OCT 19 INTERNATIONAL FLAGS You'll see some changes to some NFL helmets around the league for Weeks 7 and 8. Hundreds of players will add flag decals to their helmets representing the countries of their heritage.
The league has announced more than 330 players have committed to participate, representing 72 nations, with Nigeria being the most-represented foreign country, with 80 players committing to wear the Nigerian flag.
AUG 6 BAKER BOMBING It is early August and it is training camp and it is possibly unfair …
But they are adding up the Baker Mayfield interceptions in Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp … and they are adding up.
Mayfield’s NFL career has been a relative disappointment, though he finished last season with the Los Angeles Rams well enough to get a shot in Tampa Bay when Tom Brady retired.
Baker signed a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million - maybe a bargain except for the fact that thus far in training camp he has thrown seven interceptions over the course of nine practices.
SCHEDULE NOTES After a 5-12 2022 season, the Los Angeles Rams may not be the draw that they were a season ago as the defending Super Bowl Champions. Still, it seems they'll be in a prime location, if nothing else, on one of the more intriguing days on the 2023 NFL calendar.
UPDATE: Rams vs. Giants on New Years Even
According to NorthJersey.com, the Rams will have a New Year's Eve game just outside of New York City:
"The New York Giants won't have to travel far if they want to go to Times Square on New Year's Eve," the report said. "I'm hearing they'll be playing at home at MetLife against the Los Angeles Rams."
New Year's Eve falls on a Sunday in 2023, so this won't necessarily be a prime-time game, but simply one of the final games on the regular season slate for the Rams.
It will come against a Giants team that was one of the biggest surprises in the NFL a season ago. After sneaking into the playoffs with a 9-7-1 record in head coach Brian Daboll's first season at the helm, the Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Round before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles a week later.
This offseason, the Giants re-signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a four-year/$160 million deal, franchise-tagged running back Saquon Barkley, traded for tight end Darren Waller, and used their first-round pick on cornerback Deonte Banks out of Maryland.
The Rams will learn their full schedule this evening at 8 p.m. ET when the NFL will release its entire slate of games for the 2023 campaign.