For a litany of reasons, the 2024 season for Baker Mayfield was one to remember. He set career highs across the board, and it sent him to his second straight Pro Bowl with the Bucs. He is poised for a major payday in his next contract.
Now, heading into the 2025 season, the Bucs brought back all his offensive weapons after re-signing Chris Godwin. They also added a first-round wide receiver in Emeka Egbuka who promises to be one of the better players on offense now and in the future of the team. All of this has folks think, could Mayfield find himself adding some hardware to his house to join his Heisman Trophy?
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NFL Media’s Judy Battista made her list of dark horse MVP candidates this week, and making the cut was the Bucs signal caller. For Mayfield, she argues, “Often overlooked, Mayfield got two fifth-place votes last season, but he deserves deeper consideration. . . .Mayfield will have to overcome two things to get more serious consideration. He will have his third play-caller in as many seasons with the Buccaneers, after Liam Coen left to become the Jaguars‘ head coach. (New OC Josh Grizzard was the passing game coordinator last year in Tampa.) And then there’s the fact that the Bucs play in the NFC South, considered one of the weakest divisions in the game. . .”
Luckily for Mayfield, despite playing in the NFC South, he will be facing off against the likes of the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and the defending Super Bowl champion, the Philadelphia Eagles. Those three matchups alone could be enough to get people taking him seriously as an MVP candidate.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs’ Baker Mayfield tabbed as dark horse for major NFL honor in 2025