Baker Mayfield's historic Buccaneers contract extension is aging like spoiled milk

Rather than letting Baker Mayfield play out his contract year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers demonstrated their belief in the franchise quarterback by signing him to a three-year, $165 million extension this offseason, the biggest contract in franchise history.

The early return on investment has been concerning, to say the least, as Mayfield has been one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks and has cost the Buccaneers several games due to turnovers and poor decision-making.

Tampa Bay's decision to make such a major financial commitment to Mayfield before the season, rather than making him play out the final year of his deal and evaluating their options in the offseason, is looking more questionable by the day. Hindsight is 20/20, but if he continues to play at this level, the Buccaneers are stuck with one of the worst contracts in the NFL.

Baker Mayfield is holding the Buccaneers back from greatness

The Buccaneers are elite defensively, leading the NFL in takeaways and interceptions while owning the No. 1 rushing defense. They also boast the NFL's No. 1 rushing offense. That combination would normally be reflected in the win-loss column, but Tampa Bay is only 3-6. It’s an indictment of Mayfield that this team hasn’t won more games.

The Buccaneers are 2-4 in games started by Mayfield this season. He's completing only 60% of his passes, and has more turnovers than touchdowns. He's thrown three passing touchdowns compared to four interceptions, and has also lost three fumbles.

Even when he’s not turning the football over, he’s missing open receivers or taking unnecessary sacks. This is not the quarterback the Buccaneers thought they were getting when they committed to paying him $55 million per year. He’s one of only eight quarterbacks making $55 million per year, yet he’s been closer to a bottom-eight quarterback than a top-eight quarterback.

Buccaneers’ loss to Bears exposed Baker Mayfield as the weak link

The Buccaneers’ loss to the Bears on Sunday Night Football was a microcosm of Tampa Bay’s season.

The defense was incredible, shutting down one of the NFL’s best offenses. Caleb Williams threw a career-high four interceptions, and the defense forced five turnovers overall. The Bears’ second-ranked rushing attack, averaging 150 yards per game, was held to only 72 yards.

But it wasn’t enough to pull off the victory as the Bucs fell 27-24, and that’s thanks to Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield threw two costly interceptions, including a pick-six that proved the be the difference in a one-possession game. 

In the two starts that Mayfield has won, he’s combined for a total of 14 attempts. In one of those wins, he didn’t complete a single pass. Simply put, this team is better when he throws the football less, because they can’t count on him to provide consistently effective quarterback play. 

The elephant in the room is getting harder to ignore, as Mayfield looks like the biggest weakness holding back an otherwise great Buccaneers team.

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