Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield has surprising comments about his free agency

It appears quarterback Baker Mayfield wasn't convinced he'd re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason until it was learned shortly before the start of the NFL's legal tampering portion of free agency he'd be staying put. 

Per the JoeBucsFan website, Mayfield shared on the latest edition of the Buccaneers' "In the Current" program that "he believed negotiations had stalled so much that he would be testing free agency in a matter of hours." Mayfield had been linked in rumors with clubs such as the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings, and league insider Peter Schrager later reported that the 29-year-old "was going to test the market" before his camp worked things out with Tampa Bay. 

"Mayfield said following a contract-talks update [that] he told his wife he either needed to take a nap or be outside his house," JoeBucsFan added about the quarterback's mindset leading up to that fateful Sunday afternoon. 

In the end, Mayfield and the Buccaneers agreed to a three-year, $100M contract with a maximum value of $115M and $50M guaranteed. However, it's thought that Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht could escape that deal as soon as next offseason depending on how his QB1 plays this fall. 

It was reported back in February that "a big part" of the Buccaneers hiring Liam Coen as their new offensive coordinator "came on the recommendation of Mayfield" after Mayfield played under Coen with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 campaign. That update, combined with the fact that Tampa Bay used the franchise tag to retain safety Antoine Winfield Jr., caused many outsiders to assume it was a matter of when, not if, Mayfield and the Buccaneers would come to terms on a contract. 

Mayfield's latest comments indicate he was prepared to start speaking with other clubs on March 11. 

Mayfield also explained during the "In the Current" segment that he "had lost the joy of football" before he signed his initial one-year deal with Tampa Bay in March 2023. Both the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers gave up on Mayfield in 2022, and those experiences may explain why he doubted Tampa Bay's commitment to him through the second weekend of this past March.