REPORT: Bucs’ Rival Is Very Interested In Baker Mayfield

The Bucs have just over 10 days to re-sign quarterback Baker Mayfield before the open negotiation period in free agency begins and other NFL teams are allowed to contact Tampa Bay’s starter and make him an offer. General manager Jason Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg, the team’s capologist, are in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine working hard to get Mayfield under contract with a lucrative extension before noon on March 11.

Should a deal not get done and Mayfield hits free agency, the Bucs’ worst nightmare may come true as division rival Atlanta is very interested in pursuing him should the Falcons not elect to trade for Bears quarterback Justin Fields. That news was reported by long-time NFL Draft insider Tony Pauline, reporting for Sportskeeda.

Pauline wrote: Of those other suitors for Mayfield, I can confirm one is the Atlanta Falcons, who I mentioned several weeks ago as a possibility. The Falcons have been linked to Justin Fields, and if a trade is not completed with the Chicago Bears soon after the combine, I expect Mayfield to be at the top of their wish list.

Losing Baker Mayfield To The Falcons Would Be The Worst-Case Scenario For The Bucs

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This news is in line with what I reported for Pewter Report in last week’s SR’s Fab 5 on February 23 when I wrote that the Atlanta Falcons were at the top of the list of potential suitors. If Mayfield hits free agency, he could have multiple suitors, which could drive his price up and make it ultimately more difficult for the Bucs to re-sign him from a price standpoint.

Reynolds wrote: The first team is Atlanta, which has been rumored to possibly trade for Chicago’s Justin Fields, who is a Georgia native. Fields, a former first-round pick, has struggled with the Bears for four seasons, but he’s an exciting dual-threat quarterback and Michael Vick electrified the Falcons and the city of Atlanta back in the day.

If the Falcons don’t want to trade draft capital to acquire a QB, they could set their sights on stealing Mayfield away from a division rival. That would be a double whammy as Atlanta might be a quarterback away from winning the NFC South, and taking him from Tampa Bay would cripple the Bucs’ hopes of winning a fourth straight division title.

New Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson spent time with Mayfield in Los Angeles at the end of the 2022 season – just like new Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen did. So any familiarity advantage Coen has with Mayfield, Robinson does, too.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Atlanta’s offense appears to be just as stocked with weapons as Tampa Bay’s is. The Falcons have two exceptional running backs in Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, two very good tight ends in Jonnu Smith (free agent) and Kyle Pitts and a promising young wide receiver in Drake London. The fact that new head coach Raheem Morris might have better job security than Todd Bowles because he just arrived in Atlanta might make the Falcons an intriguing option for Mayfield over the long haul.

The Falcons have $38,519,013 in cap space, which is the 13th-most in the league. Outside of Smith, Atlanta also doesn’t have any major re-signings to deal with this offseason.

The Bucs met with Mayfield’s representatives on Thursday in Indianapolis to try to push talks in the right direction. However, the outcome of those talks is not known as this time other than a deal on an extension has yet to be reached. It is expected that the floor for a new Mayfield deal in Tampa Bay will be $30 million per year, but likely to be in the mid-$30 million range.

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