Just when we thought we had reached the bottom of the bad Baker Mayfield takes barrel, it turns out there might not be one.
All offseason long the only consistent narrative around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that seemed to get any attention was how awful the team will be with Mayfield as quarterback. The way national pundits were talking about him suggested the Bucs being allowed to play in the NFL this season was an act of charity, as though they were a Pop Warner team that was getting to play against a professional team like it were a corny Disney movie.
Those who actually paid attention to Baker and the Bucs came away with a very different interpretation of things. Former GM Rick Spielman visited the team and was impressed to the point of dubbing them one of his favorites to be a surprise this year. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was dumbfounded that a roster with as much talent as the Bucs have is being cast aside.
Not everyone got the memo — or access to game film.
Colin Cowherd has gone out of his way more than once to fill airtime bashing Baker and Peter King still hasn’t changed his opinion that the Bucs are the second-worst team in the league. Add USA Today to the cast of characters dumping on Tampa Bay, but with a take that is almost artistic in how wild it is.
USA Today: Will Grier could be Bucs ‘best quarterback on the roster’
USA Today Touchdown Wire went over the potential landing spots for recently released Dallas Cowboys quarterback Will Grier and listed the Bucs as a destination.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are really stretching with what they currently have with their current quarterback room. We know Baker Mayfield isn’t a long…or really even short term answer at the position, and Kyle Trask has yet to show the ability to be a starter for Tampa Bay,” wrote Natalie Miller.
This part is the kicker:
“It would certainly be a dart throw, but can you really convince yourself that Will Grier wouldn’t potentially be the best quarterback on the roster the moment he steps into the building?”
Cue the Idris Elba WTF meme from Hot Ones.
It’s perfectly fair to doubt Baker Mayfield, and folks have been doing it all offseason long. It seems we’ve reached a bit of a ridiculous Jumping The Shark moment when the suggestion of Will Grier being the best Bucs quarterback option is placed on the table.
Mayfield has proven to be perfectly solid in the time he’s spent with the Bucs. He finished the preseason 14-for-15 with 105 yards and two touchdowns, as well as a 134.5 QBR and zero turnovers.
Those are all trends in the right direction for Baker, and it offers some excitement for what he might be able to do if he can stay healthy and has weapons like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Even Kyle Trask looked like he took a nice step forward in his development this offseason, and it’s almost more insulting to him to suggest Grier would be the Bucs best quarterback the moment he walked in.