Baker Mayfield: Best bet might still be Tampa Bay

Things have gone incredibly quiet on the Baker Mayfield front but the best bet for him going forward in his career might still be with the Tampa Bay Bucs

When the Cleveland Browns landed Deshaun Watson, it seemed as though it would be just a matter of hours until Baker Mayfield was sent to his new home.

However, we are roughly a week into the Deshaun Watson era and Mayfield is still a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Of course, this isn’t due to a lack of motivation on the part of Cleveland. With their new franchise quarterback showing up to work already, they’re surely ready to turn the page. In fact, they even already have a new backup as they added Jacoby Brissett to completely clean house in the quarterback room.

Despite the Browns’ intentions of making a move, the rest of the NFL has seemed to sour immensely on Mayfield. As it stands now, it seems as though there are more teams being reported as ‘out’ on Mayfield than there are potential landing spots.

But that doesn’t mean there’s not a spot for him and the one team that could make the most sense might be the one we heard about even before Watson joined the team.

Which team is the best fit for Baker Mayfield?

Before Cleveland won the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, there were reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were doing their homework on Baker Mayfield. Not long after the season ended, legendary quarterback Tom Brady elected to call it a career and announced his retirement, leaving Tampa looking for a new quarterback.

While they were searching, they apparently wondered how No. 6 would look in pewter should Cleveland really decide to move on. Eventually, Brady came back and all this talk died out. But maybe it shouldn’t.

Right now, there are no guaranteed starting spots for Mayfield which means he might have to bite the bullet and be a reserve for a season as he hones his skills. That’s something he could potentially do in Tampa as he could spend a year working with his newly appointed quarterback coach while also learning the system Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich run.

Then should Brady again decide to retire ahead of the 2023 season, Mayfield would be next in line to take over the Bucs offense.

It might not be the exact path he wants to take but it’s not a terrible idea. Look, for example, at what a season as a reserve in New Orleans did for Jameis Winston — another former No. 1 overall pick who didn’t work out with his first-team but found new life elsewhere.