Opponent mistake gives Buccaneers new player option at key position

With Geno Smith returning to the Seahawks, it looks like Baker Mayfield could become a free agent for the Buccaneers to target.

The Seahawks are going to Seahawk. Why they would feel comfortable running with Drew Lock and Geno Smith over an option like Baker Mayfield is beyond us, but it does still keep that door slightly ajar for the Buccaneers moving forward.

We get it, Mayfield is not the flashiest option. He isn’t doing himself any favors off the field, but let’s not pretend the Browns are victims in this situation. Moving on from quarterbacks and other key players is a part of the business, but Cleveland could have handled the situation better.

Regardless, Mayfield is officially looking for a new team, and with most of the logical options off the table, there is some room for some interesting contingencies to take place.

Take Mayfield joining the Buccaneers.

The Bucs love Brady. Is there anyone after him that the fanbase has confidence in? Gabbert is a career backup, and Kyle Trask is still a question mark going into his second training camp. Winning the backup job would be huge for Trask and his future, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

We are just over a month removed from living in a world where it looked like Gabbert or Trask was going to take over as the new starter. How fun was that?

The obvious answer is it wasn’t, and the Bucs recognized this. Ticket sales dropped so much so that they made people sign up for one more season just to watch Brady in 2022. Is that a move by a franchise that is confident in their future starting quarterback options?

While Baker may not be the most popular option, he does have the benefit of being a viable starting quarterback under his belt, something Gabbert and Trask don’t. Four years in the NFL and playoff success on a team like the Browns is better than Gabbert (only years of down) and Trask (can’t make it on the field to show us).

The Bucs won’t have high draft picks coming up to draft a sure quarterback after Brady, the free agent market in Tampa without Brady is a crap shoot, and getting a guy now just to see is all this move would be.

Mayfield is likely days away from becoming a free agent based on everything we have seen in Cleveland. That guy isn’t going to be a backup, and he obviously isn’t going to become a Colt or a Seahawk now.

Baker is likely going to have to swallow his pride and go sit behind a starter for a year as he rehabs his injuries and his image, and there is no better place than Tampa.

Mayfield’s personality, while abrasive to some, is far from enough to derail Tampa’s locker room. If they can handle Antonio Brown, they can handle anyone.

Mayfield is also an obvious improvement over Blaine Gabbert, so that wouldn’t be a hard guy to move off of anyway; even if he is close with Brady.

This move would also put Baker on a  team with most of its offensive weapons locked down and a head coach that looks like he wants to focus on ball control and defense. Check all of the boxes.

This move all comes down to Baker being willing to play on a light contract and to sit behind Tom Brady, but the $18 million coming from Cleveland shouldn’t make that too hard to stomach.

The Seahawks might be willing to settle for career backups to lead their team, but the Buccaneers know better. This move might rub some people the wrong way, but going after players like this when the stakes are so low is never a bad idea.

If Baker works out, Tampa finds their next face of the franchise. If he struggles, is it any worse that using Blaine Gabbert as the starter? Hint: it isn’t.

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