There are no bad ideas in a brainstorm. Well, there usually aren’t any bad ideas in a brainstorm.
Even in a Doctor Strange simulation of a billion realities and their outcomes, every single one has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trading Baker Mayfield as a nuclear option that blows everything up.
Let’s be crystal clear: the Bucs aren't going to trade Baker Mayfield anytime soon. Even if he wasn't a key figure behind three straight division titles, his stats have more than justified the contract that Tampa Bay gave him back before the 2024 season. He's obviously not the longterm solution, but his extensions was a smarter idea than trying to piece things together on the free agent market.; the Bucs could probably do a little bit better, but they could certainly do a whole lot worse.
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But in a very esoteric, anything's-possible-in-the-multiverse kinda way, I guess the Bucs could trade Baker Mayfield. It is technically possible, just like it's technically possible that they could sign me right after they trade him.
That’s the hypothetical offseason trade ideas Bleacher Report cooked up, and it’s as big of a doozy as you’re likely imagining while waiting for your eyes to roll back into their normal position.
Would the Bucs really trade Baker Mayfield in the middle of the season?
Here’s what B/R wrote in a piece tossing out a handful of hypothetical trades involving name brand quarterbacks on teams teetering closer to the brink than others might think.
"It's possible considering the team is generally over the hill and the talented but inconsistent Mayfield tied Cousins with a league-high 16 interceptions in 2024. Could a contender with quarterback issues decide to roll the dice on him taking off following a change of scenery? We won't speculate on injuries, but the Steelers and Vikings both come to mind in the event that either the Aaron Rodgers experiment blows up quickly or J.J. McCarthy gets off to a horrible start in Minnesota. We’ll lean toward the Vikes having a longer leash with their young quarterback, because who knows what will happen with the 41-year-old Rodgers."
I don't really get anything about this rationale, but that's not what's important. What's important is that we're all having fun on the internet talking about weird trades. There are worse ways to spend your time on the internet these days. I can't imagine any world where the Bucs trade – especially in the middle of the season, to a team that just spent $20 million for a one-year QB rental – but sometimes you just gotta throw things against the wall and see what sticks.
And who knows, if the Bucs do end up trading, that would open up Bucs coach Bill Belichick to get his QB in next year's draft. The next great Belichick-QB dynasty might only be a year away.
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