It is difficult to believe that franchises like the Browns of Cleveland and the Panthers of Caroline did not think that Baker Mayfield could continue to be part of their organizations.
Browns and panthers are among the franchises the worst of the NFL. If one of these teams decides that someone cannot play, you must get second, third and fourth opinions to make sure their analysis is on the brand.
Mayfield is about to play his second match in his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday evening against the Houston Texans host and no one considered him to be examined in 2021 and 2022.
Mayfield guided Tampa Bay to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, winning a match in 2023 and arrived empty last season.
Its development in a solid quarter is one of the reasons why Buccaneers are considered favorites in the NFC South. In fact, Mayfield is the best quarter of the division.
Overall, Mayfield is not the top 10 of the top-back, but it is part of the next level.
The property is that he has established career records for the completion percentage (71.4) and Touché passes (41) last season.
He has always had a strong arm with a good precision rate on short and medium throws. Mayfield also continues to grow as a leader.
The bad is that he led the NFL with 16 interceptions in 2024. Too many risky throws, often due to being too aggressive.
Trembling decision -making tormented Mayfield, especially when he launched a career 21 interceptions and completed less than 60% of his passes in 2019 for the Browns.
Oh yeah, Cleveland.
The Browns took it n ° 1 in the general classification of the 2018 draft after Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma.
During his third season, he looked like the real affair by launching 26 passes of touching against eight interceptions.
But there is also this: the Browns have a victory in the playoffs since they returned to the NFL in 1999.
The quarter to deliver was Mayfield, who guided Cleveland at 48 points during a victory in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 10, 2021.
These were happy moments in the Mayfield / Browns relationship. Mayfield played in progressive advertisements in which he was described as living at the first energy stage of the time.
And why not? It seemed to have the place for a long time.
But he regressed the following season, just like the team and suddenly he was exchanged to the Panthers.
He has a background with Carolina, going 1-5 in six starts and lets go during the season.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady retired after the 2022 season, the Buccaneers therefore needed a quarter.
They took a leaflet on Mayfield on an agreement of one year, $ 4 million, plus the incentives. Mayfield made sure that there was no drop in quarter production by exceeding 4,000 yards by passing each of the last two seasons and launching 69 affected, including a career record 41 last season.
Only 12 months after the arrival of Mayfield, the BUCs gave it a $ 100 million contract over three years.
Now Mayfield, 30, is rooted as a starter of Buccaneers. He launched three score passes in the opening victory of the Tampa Bay season against the Falcons of Atlanta and seems ready for another big season.
The next step is whether Mayfield can guide Tampa Bay during a deep race in the playoff series. He made the playoffs in three of his seven seasons of the NFL and has a starting record of 2-3 in the playoffs.
Buccaneers could be challenged by Falcons in the NFC South, but the Saints and Panthers of New Orleans are long shots. It would be a disappointment if Tampa Bay is missing the playoffs. But can BUCs run?
So, is it just to expect an appearance of a NFC championship match when the predicators tell you the Eagles of Philadelphia (for sure) and others like the Lions of Detroit, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams are better bets to get there?
It’s certainly fair. This Brady guy led a team of fifth seeded BUCS to a Super Bowl 31-9 victory over the Chiefs of Kansas City during the 2020 season.
The story might not be repeated, but a Mayfield, now secure, should have views of a massive breakthrough in the playoffs. It is due.
