NFL personnel share offseason prediction for Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield

ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler recently spoke with "NFL team executives, scouts and personnel figures," and such conversations caused Fowler to believe quarterback Baker Mayfield will re-sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason. 

"I'm not sure it makes sense to go after someone else like Russell Wilson or Justin Fields when I'm not sure that's a substantial upgrade," one NFC personnel evaluator told Fowler about the Buccaneers running it back with Mayfield. "Mayfield isn't perfect, but you can win games with him. He's streaky, but when he gets hot, he can produce like a top-10 guy."

Mayfield signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the Buccaneers last offseason, quickly became a favorite among players inside the locker room and then helped the club claim the NFC South division title with a 9-8 record. 

According to ESPN stats, he ended the regular season ranked 12th in the league among qualified players with a 94.6 passer rating, ninth with 4,044 passing yards and seventh with 28 touchdown passes. Across the first two weeks of the ongoing postseason tournament, Mayfield passed for a league-best 686 yards to go along with six touchdowns and two interceptions. 

"Teams are only as good as their options at any given position, and Mayfield looks like Tampa's best," Fowler added. 

Multiple knowledgeable members of the NFL community have linked Mayfield with the Atlanta Falcons due to Atlanta's need for a signal-caller combined with the club's interest in former New England Patriots head coach and known Mayfield fan, Bill Belichick. 

However, the Buccaneers could retain Mayfield's rights for 2024 via the franchise tag worth around $35M to keep him from joining the Falcons. Tampa Bay could then spend the spring working out the details of a long-term agreement with the 28-year-old who some believed in December 2022 would never again be a full-time QB1 at the highest level.