Because of the way he wears his heart on his sleeve, Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback Baker Mayfield is always going to be a target for criticism and someone the media and opposing fan bases have hot takes about.
Mayfield admittedly did not have the best second half of the season in 2025. He was not the main reason why the Bucs collapsed down the stretch of the season, but he bears some of the responsibility as the leader of this franchise and the starting quarterback, regardless of the injuries to himself or the many other stars on the Bucs offense.
That said, there's a lot that is left unsaid about the narrative around Mayfield's 2025 season. Former Houston Texans quarterback TJ Yates is the Buccaneers passing game coordinator, and in between praising Mayfield and his attitude under center, he made an admission that is important for the Bucs and the fan bas to keep in mind in 2026.
Baker Mayfield keeps having to learn new systems
Via Joe Bucs Fan, Yates stated that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not done Baker Mayfield any favors by sorting through so many offensive coordinator over the years, and he admitted that it is "tough" to force the starting quarterback to have to learn a new offense every season.
Liam Coen left for the Jacksonville Jaguars to be their new head coach. He was replaced with Josh Grizzard, who was promptly fired after a season so bad that members of the coaching staff and even former players have taken subtle shots at him in the media. And now Zac Robinson enters as the latest coordinator for Mayfield, who previously spent years bouncing around teams in the NFL learning new schemes.
Mayfield is nothing if not adaptable, and learning all those offenses has surely increased his own knowledge. Yes, those are the positives, but for the Buccaneers franchise, it is a huge negative to have this much volatility in your offensive coaching staff, because then it's hard to get into a rhythm.
Because even if Baker Mayfield picks up everything perfectly, that still needs to be spread, distilled, and sorted by everyone on the offense, and then everyone has to get on the same page, which gets even tougher when you have a young room of pass catchers and all the injuries that transpire. So when everyone talks about Mayfield and picks apart the last season, they have to remember how tough of a spot the Bucs have put their quarterback in.
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