Quarterback Baker Mayfield enters his fourth season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is in the final year of his current three-year contract. He set a deadline to halt contract negotiations once training camp begins to focus solely on football and the upcoming season.
Last season, Mayfield completed 343 of 543 attempts (63.2) for 3,693 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In Tampa Bay's 38-35 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week Five, Mayfield engineered his fourth game- winning drive and his fourth fourth-quarter comeback of the 2025 season to tie Tampa Bay for the NFL's best record through Week Five. In the Seattle matchup, he completed 29-of-33 passes (87.9%) for 379 yards and two touchdowns, with zero interceptions, earning a 134.7 passer rating. His completion percentage and his 11.5 passing yards per attempt each led the NFL in Week Five.
Overall, in 2025, he rushed 29 times on third downs with 21 going for first downs (72.4% success rate). Mayfield rushed for a career-high 382 rushing yards in 2025 and ranked ninth in the NFL in rushing yards among quarterbacks, showcasing his improvisation skills. He led all quarterbacks in yards per rush at 6.9 (minimum of 50 rushes) and led all quarterbacks in first downs per rush (49.1% of his rushes went for a first down).
Mayfield plays with a voracious passion for the game and a fiery demeanor that rallies the offense. He is light on his feet and possesses quick processing skills. Mayfield, the first walk-on to win the Heisman Trophy, can hit a compact release off-platform with velocity gained from his lower body. He is effective when he breaks containment from the pocket and can layer passes downfield. Whether RPOs or naked bootlegs, Mayfield's mobility and moxie will be featured in 2026.
"Baker was the No. 1 pick in the draft for a reason," described Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson. "In terms of the arm, there's not a part of the field that he can't attack. You start there and then you get to the instincts and the feel for the game. You mentioned it, the movement part is huge. You have to be able to move at this day and age in the NFL as you guys know. His ability to throw on the run – he's probably the best in the league at throwing on the run. He's great in the keeper game, great in the boot[leg] game. [I am] looking to evolve that part and making sure that we're playing to Baker's strengths and the rest of the guys' strengths. That's a huge part. The third-down conversions, those are tough downs, and when you have a quarterback that can obviously extend those plays and pick up first downs with his legs, that's huge."
