Why Todd Bowles only wants Baker Mayfield as starting QB for Buccaneers

Quarterback Baker Mayfield guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to comeback victories four times in five games en route to becoming a legitimate Most Valuable Player Award candidate this fall. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles was asked if he'd rather have any other active signal-caller in the league atop the Tampa Bay depth chart.

Baker Mayfield has new "mastery" of Tampa Bay offense

"For me, no," Bowles responded to the question, per the JoeBucsFan website. "The other 31 coaches are probably going to stand up here and say the same thing about their quarterback. I love what [Mayfield is] doing right now. I love the way he’s playing. I love the space he’s in, mentally and physically, getting it done. The mastery of the offense in his second year has really done a lot." 

After former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen left the organization to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars this past winter, the Buccaneers promoted Josh Grizzard from his role as their pass game coordinator to serve as Coen's replacement. During the offseason, Grizzard was credited with designing Tampa Bay's third-down offense under Coen. 

The StatMuse website shows that Mayfield enters Week 6 with the league's fourth-most combined passing and rushing yards (1,427) on the campaign. According to Pro Football Reference, he began Thursday ranked ninth in the NFL among qualified players with a 75.4 adjusted QBR and ninth with a 104.4 passer rating. He tossed 10 touchdown passes and just one interception while leading the Buccaneers to a 4-1 record. 

Todd Bowles is "very proud of" how Baker Mayfield, Josh Grizzard have grown comfortable with each other

"Them understanding and communicating what [Mayfield] likes and doesn’t like, and him throwing to the open guys and making everybody better, has really helped," Bowles added about the Mayfield-Grizzard partnership. "I’m very proud of that." 

As of Thursday morning, ESPN BET had the Buccaneers as 2.5-point favorites for this coming Sunday's home game against the San Francisco 49ers (4-1). At that same time, DraftKings Sportsbook had Mayfield third among the betting favorites at +650 odds to claim MVP honors for the ongoing regular season.