With Baker Mayfield Hurt, Bucs Totally Fumble QB Situation

Tampa Bay Fumbles

Before the season started, Baker Mayfield put a ton of pressure on GM Jason Licht and the Bucs to get a long-term deal done.

After starting 17 games in each of his previous three seasons, Baker felt he had shown enough to warrant some security entering his fourth season. And good for him, football is an unforgiving sport, and since contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, getting an extension with a bunch of new money is the name of the game.

After initially being far apart in negotiations throughout the offseason, the Bucs finally relented and signed him to a three-year deal worth up to $165 million after Baker started putting pressure on them through the media to get a deal done.

But while the Bucs probably did the right thing at the time, looking at their quarterback room, it’s clear to see that they don’t have a real backup plan for Baker’s coming absence.

The Buccaneers have just one other quarterback on their roster, undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels out of Kansas.

While Daniels received a ton of praise during the preseason, and head coach Todd Bowles praised him for his poise, he is probably not the best option to keep this team afloat while Baker is out.

He is clearly a developmental piece, but the Bucs had him in a position where he was a heartbeat away from the big job.

Forget their decision to go for it on fourth down from their own 39 yard line with 2 minutes left in the game when they could have kicked the ball away, used their three timeouts and possibly have gotten the ball back for a game winning drive at home (this was the play where Baker was injured); the biggest mistake the Bucs have made was not having a backup plan for Baker.

The QB Market is Thin

Most teams understand just how important the backup QB role is.

That’s why the Commanders made signing veteran Marcus Mariota to an extension a priority in the offseason. It’s why the Giants are still able to win with veteran (and former Bucs top draft pick) Jameis Winston in Jaxson Dart’s absence. Seattle won two games with Drew Lock taking most of the snaps. Last season veteran fossil Joe Flacco famously won a bunch of games for the Bengals.

The free agent QB market doesn’t have a lot of meat on the bone.

Jimmy Garoppolo is available. As are Jake Browning, Nick Mullens and Jeff Driskel. Josh Johnson, who has been a backup on 14 different NFL teams, is currently stashed away on the Bengals’ practice squad.

Brandon Allen, Kyle Trask, Clayton Tune… the free agent list is not encouraging.

So the Bucs may have to roll with the rookie. Maybe he gets to prove why NFL scouts got it wrong with him. Maybe he is the next Kurt Warner and becomes one of the most successful undrafted free agent quarterbacks of all time.

But maybe isn’t a way to staff your team, especially at the most important position.

The Bucs have fumbled this situation royally, and after their 0-3 start, their schedule doesn’t get any easier with the Packers coming to town next week and a trip to Dallas the week after that.

They just have to hope Baker’s healing time is on the shorter end of the spectrum, otherwise their season is over before it even had a chance to get started.

Bucs Have One Ray of Hope

The one ray of hope for Bucs fans is that ESPN actually has Daniels ranked as the seventh best backup in the league. But their confidence in that designation (and the logic behind it) seems thin.

¨Is this a reach? Maybe. But undrafted rookies face serious headwinds making rosters, much less being in potentially important roles. So, the fact that Daniels beat out Jake Browning (my No. 2 backup last year) is a major point in his favor. It’s a far stronger signal than a middle-round pick landing a backup job partially due to the draft capital used on him,¨said ESPN’s Seth Walder.

Browning, as mentioned above, is currently not in the NFL.

¨The preseason tape is incredibly enticing, too, with Daniels spinning out of pressures like Russell Wilson, making throws on the run and ripping the ball downfield between defenders. His value is team-dependent. He is a less helpful backup for a Super Bowl contender because he’s riskier than many of the players below. But he also has a lot more upside.¨