Buccaneers will now be facing Baker Mayfield twice per year
A division rival of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has traded for Baker Mayfield, so now the Buccaneers will face the former number one overall draft pick at least twice.
Well, it finally happened. Baker Mayfield has FINALLY been traded by the Cleveland Browns so at long last that perhaps overblown narrative has reached its conclusion. Back to the dog days of Summer we go. However, this trade affects the Buccaneers.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, the Browns will be sending Mayfield to the Bucs’ division rival Carolina Panthers.
A new QB in Carolina: The #Panthers are acquiring former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield from the #Browns for a 2024 conditional 5th-round draft pick, sources tell me and @TomPelissero. Deal is pending a physical. All parties split the financials to make it happen. pic.twitter.com/xuTLqosmZm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 6, 2022
All things considered, that’s a shocking haul. It isn’t shocking because the Panthers overpaid like we thought maybe they would, but because of how little they paid.
In fairness, Mayfield may have had a down year but was also playing with his arm dangling from the shoulder socket. He’s a tough guy and a former number one overall pick and the first quarterback since the Browns came back into the fold in 1999 to lead them to a playoff win. The price? A CONDITIONAL FIFTH-ROUND PICK. Credit to where it’s due that’s a bargain even if you aren’t a Baker stan.
As it pertains to the Buccaneers, all of a sudden the Panthers have quite possibly the second-best quarterback in the NFC South. That isn’t shade on Jameis Winston at all, however, if we’re talking wins and playoff appearances, the proof is in the pudding. Both quarterbacks had a lot of talent around them.
The quarterbacks the Bucs are now expected to face twice this season (at least) are now the aforementioned Baker and Jameis, and Marcus Mariota with possibly some Desmond Ridder and Matt Corral sprinkled in. That isn’t exactly a murderer’s row, but it’s certainly better than what was expected just a few months ago.
The fact of the matter is, the Buccaneers still have far and away the best quarterback in the division, like, it isn’t close. However, some may laugh at the prospect of the Panthers trading for Baker Mayfield, but let’s not have anyone throw TOO many stones in their glass houses. Remember, this was seen as one of the best-case scenarios for the short era of the Tom Brady-less Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. All in all, it doesn’t change much, the division still runs through Tampa Bay.