Baker Mayfield is heading into the final year of his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and GM Jason Licht says the team will work on an extension
After a strong start to the 2025 NFL Season, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faltered, missing the playoffs entirely(Image: Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear determined to hold onto Baker Mayfield, despite the quarterback entering the final year of his contract.
It’s somewhat surprising that the Buccaneers haven’t already extended Mayfield’s deal, as doing so could have considerably reduced his salary cap impact heading into the offseason, freeing up funds for free agency spending. Some speculated this could signal a parting of ways after this season, following a disappointing 2025 campaign.
Tampa Bay has navigated an eventful offseason, losing superstar wide receiver Mike Evans, seeing Jamel Dean sign elsewhere, and watching Lavonte David hang up his cleats. With the Buccaneers potentially facing a rebuild, speculation has mounted that they could move on from Mayfield.
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However, general manager Jason Licht has indicated that won’t be the case, expressing his desire to secure an extension for the quarterback in the near future.
Baker Mayfield is has won 25 of his 44 regular season starts as Buccaneers quarterback(Image: Getty)
Licht said: “Baker is still our quarterback. He’s one of the toughest guys on the team. He’s a great leader. Everything kind of revolves around the quarterback spot. At some point, I’m sure we’ll figure something out. There’s no timetable on that.”, reports the Mirror US.
Tampa Bay dropped eight of their final 10 games to miss the playoffs, with their offense visibly struggling in the back half of the season.
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In an exclusive conversation with Mirror US Sports several weeks ago, Mayfield identified where he believes things unraveled for the team. He said: “When you have confidence and momentum, it goes a long way – especially in the type of ball games we were in early in the year. We were just executing well, and so I think forward, the injuries do play a factor.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht
“Still, it comes down to executing in the critical moments, and we just weren’t doing that later in the year. Sometimes, you don’t have that momentum or confidence. It’s frustrating.
“Any little bad thing toward the end of the year, guys are like, ‘Well, not this again’ instead of being like, ‘Alright, no, we’re gonna make it work, doesn’t matter, next play’. That comes down to me, being able to instill that confidence and drive the belief into the guys.”
Moving forward, Mayfield will be relying on his two emerging offensive talents, Emeka Egbuka and Bucky Irving, following Evans’ departure to the San Francisco 49ers.
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