NFL Insider connects Buccaneers and potential future QB

Everyone else on the planet knows the Buccaneers need to get better depth quarterbacks.

It is not yet evident what kind of magic Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin are using to stay employed by the Buccaneers, but it might be time to figure out how the Hell that keeps happening every year.

If you still believe that Gabbert is the best of the best as a backup (with the potential to start), and Ryan Griffin is even worth keeping on the roster, there is no helping you.

These guys are flat-out bad, and the Bucs keeping them on the roster does absolutely no good when other backup options are out there.

It seems like everyone else recognizes this, because even NFL Insider Ian Rapoport sees a fit between Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.

Now, we can assume this makes the most sense when Mayfield becomes a free agent.

Let’s face it; the Browns aren’t going to find a trade partner for Baker. This does not mean that Baker is a bad quarterback, but it does show that the rest of the league sees that the Browns have absolutely no leverage. Why trade for a quarterback and his $18 million salary when you can get him for a fraction of that price when Cleveland has to cut him down the line?

Mayfield is exponentially better than every other backup quarterback on the Buccaneers right now and his ceiling is higher. The Bucs could acquire Baker on a cheap deal after he gets cut, keep him as the backup to Brady for a year (after cutting Gabbert and his small amount of guaranteed money) and then go into 2023 (presumably without Brady) with a better option in hand to at least see what they have.

This is a low-risk, high-reward move by the Bucs, so it makes sense why someone as plugged in as Rapoport would see this as a fit. Nothing is going to happen just yet, but let’s not rule anything out just yet.

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