Baker Mayfield Chip Removed
September 8th, 2026
Time to list a few stupid things that were written and said often about Baker Mayfield and his motivation and Bucs contract negotiations over the past several months.
First, there was the nonsense that the Bucs didn’t want to pay Mayfield until after the 2026 season because they believed he would perform better when he feels disrespected. Mayfield is not a mental patient — and the Bucs showed him the money months ago. Just because Mayfield wanted more cash, that doesn’t mean the Bucs were trying to mess with his head.
Joe heard so many analysts ramble about how the instead of a “chip” on Mayfield’s shoulder, now there’s a “boulder” and the Bucs like that. Thank goodness that take died today.
A three-year Mayfield extension got done this afternoon because the Bucs were desperate to make it happen.
Second was the notion that Mayfield needs that chip on his shoulder and his back against a wall to play his best. That’s complete BS. If that were the case, his team wouldn’t have lost consecutive games last season to the Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Dolphins.
All four were loser teams and the Dolphins were tanking.
Lastly was the idea that the Bucs were in some form of soft tanking this year. That could have been true if one were to believe Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht is a buffoon or that Team Glazer hasn’t learned much from its 30 years of ownership.
The signing of quality veterans on defense in free agency was the first clue the Bucs were trying to win. Then Team Glazer swooped in a couple of weeks ago and, poof, the Bucs gave Vita Vea a raise for no good reason and a contract extension hours later.
Tampa Bay is playing to win and is not trying to play mind games with players.
Now one could argue the team played mind games with fans by retaining Todd Bowles, an unpopular coach coming off a horrific collapse. But that’s a discussion for another day.