The first major domino has fallen in the offseason quarterback carousel: The Buccaneers have re-signed Baker Mayfield to a three-year, $100 million deal with $50 million guaranteed and up to $15 million in additional incentives.
Essentially, Mayfield gets $30 million guaranteed to return as Tampa Bay's quarterback in 2024, plus $20 million guaranteed (out of $30 million total) in 2025. He's set to make $40 million in 2026, but the Buccaneers will have the option to move on — or perhaps extend him again, if things are going well — before that happens. There's also $5 million in incentives that he can reach over each of the next three years.
That's a solid deal for Mayfield, who had a resurgent year with the Bucs in 2023. The No. 1 overall pick in 2018 was on his fourth team in three years when he joined Tampa Bay, so it was impressive to see the year that he put together. Mayfield set career highs in passing yards and touchdown passes, won a playoff game, made his first Pro Bowl, and finished third in comeback player of the year voting.
What does it mean for the Vikings? For starters, it means Mayfield is off the table as a fall-back option in the event that Kirk Cousins signs with a new team this week. Maybe that has a slight impact on Minnesota's urgency to sign Cousins, but probably not; they had to know that there was a good chance Mayfield would remain in Tampa.
What the Mayfield contract demonstrates is just how much Cousins is potentially going to sign for. It's almost certainly going to take a lot more than a $33.3 million AAV and $50 million in guarantees to get a deal done with Cousins, who is far more proven as a quarterback than Mayfield. The question is still how much guaranteed money GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings are willing to give to Cousins this year.
The Vikings are reportedly still in the mix with Cousins, but it seems like one of the two sides will have to budge if he's going to be back in Minnesota. Expect a decision within the next couple days.
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