The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons with Baker Mayfield as the franchise's quarterback.
While Mayfield has done a stellar job, for the most part, being the heir apparent to arguably the greatest player in NFL history, neither appearance resulted in deep playoff runs.
The 29-year-old was third in touchdown passes but also was tied for the most interceptions in the league, leading to some critical comments from analysts regarding his play. Further warranting criticism was the fashion in which the season ended with a loss at the hands of the Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Bleacher Report writer Brad Gagnon labeled Mayfield "insufficient" in a recent article.
"The 2018 no.1 overall pick led the NFC in touchdown passes but also in interceptions. And that combined with extreme inconsistency, just doesn't suffice on a decent-not-great team." Gagnon wrote.
Those are strong comments, and they’re sure to rub every Buccaneers fan the wrong way given how they defy everything we saw out of Mayfield last year.
Baker Mayfield was hardly ‘insufficient’ for the Buccaneers in 2025
By no means has Mayfield been perfect, but he has been better than anyone could have anticipated and has been one of the prime reasons the franchise has remained relevant after the departure of Tom Brady.
Winning the NFC South in back-to-back years and winning a playoff game is nothing to dismiss, and it is more than most other quarterbacks in the NFL have on their resumes. Quarterback is the most crucial position in the NFL, and when fortunes don't fall in a team's favor, more times than not, the QB will take a lot, if not most, of the blame.
Next season will be an important year for Mayfield, with the expectation that the Bucs will address holes in the roster on both sides of the ball. Despite bizarre criticism about his play not being sufficient enough to lead the Bucs, all signs point toward him having another incredible year in 2025. He’ll need to if Tampa Bay wants to keep taking steps forward, but nothing anyone who has actually watched the Bucs has seen anything to suggest he’ll be more of the problem than the solution.
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