Nick Wright drops scorching hot take about Bucs signing Baker Mayfield

Hot take artist Nick Wright dropped his latest banger, this time taking aim at the Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield, and Tom Brady. 

Buckle up, the latest Nick Wright hot take just dropped.

Wright is an absolute master at crafting takes so hot that they rile up everyone but without the stink of desperation that comes with ones from Skip Bayless. He appears to be taking a break from making every Golden State Warriors fan in the world angry at him to flick his wrist at NFL teams that don’t play in Kansas City and don’t have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback.

He’s a hot take hockey goon: you hate him when he’s on other teams but once he’s on yours he becomes your guy.

Case in point is how he spent that last few weeks absolutely roasting the New Orleans Saints and their salary cap situation. He kicked up dust with the fan base, got into a Twitter tussle with the team’s beat writers, all the while fans in Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Carolina got their popcorn out.

Now Wright is turning his attention toward the Bucs and the offseason moves they’ve made.

On Wednesday the Bucs signed Baker Mayfield to a one-year, $4 million deal that could end up paying him as much as $8.5 million if all goes well. It was low-hanging fruit for Twitter Comedians and attracted Wright to craft a take about the Bucs.

Nick Wright takes a shot at Tom Brady after Bucs sign Baker Mayfield

Wright laid out why the Buccaneers will be a better offense with Baker Mayfield under center than they were with Tom Brady:

“Do I think the Bucs with Baker will average more points than they did with Tom? I do,” Wright said. “That team’s offensive line was in shambles in a way it won’t be this year. Tom wouldn’t take any hits. Tom was kind of checked out it seems. Do I think [the Bucs] will be really good? No. Do I think the offense will be better? I do.”

Good lord, that’s the good stuff. What an absolute banger, Nick Wright never misses. Take this for what it’s worth and it’s a lot easier to engage with these sorts of hot takes.

The take is a bit misleading, as he’s framing it as the Bucs will be better with Baker when the comparison is specific to the version of Tom Brady the team had last year. It’s impossible to argue that Baker Mayfield will be better with the Bucs than Tom Brady was, unless he wins a Super Bowl in his first year.

Here’s where Wright isn’t wrong: Tampa Bay is better off long-term with Baker than it was with Brady.

With Brady, the Bucs were going all-in to win as much as the team could in the short term. That resulted in three playoff trips, two NFC South titles, and a Super Bowl — 100 percent worth it.

Baker, however, offers a chance to provide the Bucs with some clarity at quarterback. He’s being brought in to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting role, and if he wins out then it tells the Bucs all they need to know about Trask. Barring an injury playing a factor, if Baker starts the season as the Bucs quarterback then the front office can begin the process of determining how to acquire a quarterback of the future.

If Trask beats out Baker, then the Bucs have a much better idea of where he is in his development. It would also give those who care about keeping score with talking heads the validation of knowing Wright was wrong.

It’s apples and oranges, but Baker Mayfield is a better quarterback option for the Bucs from a certain point of view. It’s a narrow one, but it shouldn’t overshadow how valuable he could be for what might amount to merely a $4 million consulting fee.