NFC Notes: Baker Mayfield, Bill Belichick, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield was asked if he has found a home in Tampa beyond the 2024 season.

“I would love that,” Mayfield told Pro Football Talk. “God’s got a plan for me. If we win games that all should take care of itself, but I’m going to enjoy this one and then and then onto the next. We control our destiny, so it’s a one-game-at-a-time mentality.”

“I mean, as competitors, you know, the mentality of being an underdog and nobody really giving us a chance after we lost a few close games, that’s something that you can cherish, you can harness that and really just turn all your energy and passion into this one-game-at-a-time mentality that we control our destiny,” Mayfield added. “That’s what we have to have.”

“I’m a damn fighter,” Mayfield concluded. “I want to have an opportunity to win ball games for us and today was one of those that you relish in the fact that you have an opportunity to win the game. We have a great group around us and you know, I appreciate that they’ve let me lead in the best way I know how and take control of this thing.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes some league sources think the Buccaneers will fire HC Todd Bowles but Tampa Bay still has a chance to win the NFC South and make the playoffs, which would bolster his case for staying.

Panthers

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler mention they don’t see the Panthers as a good fit necessarily for Patriots HC Bill Belichick if he and New England part ways this offseason. 
• They write Carolina might prefer a younger option at head coach while Belichick will want a situation where he’s set up to have more immediate success. 

Saints

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says he gets the sense the Saints don’t want to fire HC Dennis Allen but if they finish with a losing record and miss the playoffs for the second straight season, they could feel like their hand is forced. 
• Allen revealed that WR Chris Olave is dealing with an ankle injury. (Nick Underhill)