Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Finally Getting Credit Entering 2025

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated May 20, 2025 10:09 PM ET

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had a long way to go to silence the critics as he was named the starter for Todd Bowles two seasons ago.

And since then, he's done his best to show he is worthy of being an NFL starter.

What has followed are back-to-back playoff seasons, division titles, Pro Bowls, and the best season (2024) of his career, when he threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Like his team, Mayfield is still not getting much praise, but he does have a supporter in Pro Football Focus.

In ranking all 32 starting quarterbacks, PFF has Baker at No. 13.

"Mayfield has pulled off a remarkable career turnaround," Pro Football Focus writes. "After bouncing back in 2023, he delivered the best season of his career in 2024, earning an 85.9 overall grade. He’ll now be working with his third offensive coordinator in three years in Tampa Bay — and his fifth since 2022 — but the struggles of 2021-2022 feel firmly in the rearview mirror. His 2024 campaign also featured one of the wildest plays of the season, completing a pass with one of the league’s top pass rushers draped all over him."

Mayfield now has to back it up again, with a different offensive coordinator in 2025, but at least he'll have the best collection of weapons in the NFL to do it with.

Seen as one of the best units in football, Mayfield will have weapons everywhere he looks. That includes a stellar run game, too, led by Bucky Irving.

Mayfield has everything he needs to take this team to the playoffs and on a deep run.

But only if the franchise can avoid the injury bug that plagued both sides of the ball last year.

Baker, as the 13th-best quarterback entering the season, feels like the right spot. If he can live up to the high expectations of himself and his team, then he might be a little higher on this list in 2026.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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