According to Ian Rapoport, there is mutual interest between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and QB Baker Mayfield in a return for the 2024 season and perhaps beyond.
Mayfield and the Bucs are in position to win the NFC South and Mayfield is primed to hit the bulk of the incentives in his one-year deal.
Both sides have enjoyed working together. Rapoport says while there are details to work out — for instance, Mayfield has earned a significant raise and could have interest from other teams, while Tampa Bay has a franchise tag in its back pocket — there’s a good chance both parties find a way to work something out.
“I mean, that would be great,” Mayfield told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. “But winning takes care of a lot of that. So we’ll handle that after the year. But that’s up to my agent and obviously the people here to decide. And so all I can do is control what I can and put myself in the best position to have options.”
Mayfield, 28, was drafted by the Browns with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2018. He played out the fourth year of a four-year, $32.68 million rookie deal that included a $21.85 million signing bonus.
The Browns exercised Mayfield’s fifth-year option which would have cost Cleveland $18.858 million fully guaranteed in 2022. However, Cleveland traded Mayfield to the Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick.
Cleveland agreed to cover $10.5 million of Mayfield’s salary with the Panthers paying out the rest. However, Carolina cut Mayfield during the season and he was claimed off waivers by the Rams, finishing out his contract in Los Angeles.
This offseason he signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay worth up to $8.5 million.
In 2023, Mayfield has appeared in 14 games for the Buccaneers and completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 3,315 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has also rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown.
We’ll have more on Mayfield as the news is available.
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