Seven-Year Pro Quarterback Returning to the Buccaneers

Since coming into the NFL in 2018 quarterback Baker Mayfield has had his ups and downs in the league. He started off his career as the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and while he had four solid seasons with the organization, he ended up asking for a trade in the 2022 offseason after the Browns had traded for Clemson's legendary quarterback Deshaun Watson. Mayfield was traded to the Panthers and only played seven games for the organization before asking for another trade because he was not getting nearly the amount of time he deserved due to not blending in very well with the Panthers' offense. After he left Carolina, Mayfield then played the rest of the 2022 NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams where he was able to lead them to a miraculous comeback in his first game with the team beating the Las Vegas Raiders on a 98-yard touchdown drive. Once the season was over Mayfield signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last March. 

Mayfield started his college career with the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2013 before transferring to the University of Oklahoma where he played from 2015 to 2017 after sitting out the 2014 due to his transfer. While Mayfield was never able to reach his full potential with the Red Raiders due to miscommunications with the coaching staff, he made an immediate impact as soon as he was able to play for Oklahoma. In his first game played with the Sooners, he passed for close to 400 yards in a win versus Akron. His incredible play would continue throughout his time with Oklahoma finishing a three-year career with the organization with 12, 292 passing yards, 119 passing touchdowns, and 808 completions not to mention a resume that included closing his college career with a 2017 Heisman Trophy win by a sweeping majority.

His great play at the college level would lead Mayfield to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. While Mayfield seemed to lose his place in the league during the 2022 season, he came back stronger than ever in the 2023 season as he was able to have his best season yet with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He threw for 4,044 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and 364 completions leading the Buccaneers to a 32-9 Wild Card Round game win against the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. While he had the biggest shoes of all time to fill in Tampa Bay, considering the last Buccaneers quarterback was Tom Brady, they were happily impressed with Mayfield, to say the least leading them to sign him to a three-year contract extension, worth up to $100 million, with $50 million guaranteed earlier today. How far with the Buccaneers go with Mayfield next season?