(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a relatively successful 2023 season, winning the NFC South and brushing aside the defending conference champion Philadelphia Eagles by 23 points in the Wild card round of the playoffs.
They also may have found their franchise quarterback for the next several years in Baker Mayfield, who had an excellent year and may have finally put it all together after five seasons of merely teasing the football world.
Tampa Bay has a new offensive coordinator in Liam Coen, who was the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive coordinator last season when Mayfield played five games for them.
Coen said he hopes Mayfield is still with the Buccaneers when next season starts, per ProFootballTalk.
“I want him to be here,” Coen said, via the team’s website. “It’s probably more ‘want’ than ‘know.’ He’s obviously a reason that I’m here.”
Liam Coen on Baker Mayfield: Obviously a reason I’m with Bucs, hope he’s back here. https://t.co/06mIy7I7FV
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 6, 2024
After leaving the Rams, Mayfield signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers, which will make him a free agent once the offseason officially begins.
He is expected to land a sizable contract, and all signs seem to point to him getting one in Tampa Bay.
The former No. 1 overall pick threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, earning him his first Pro Bowl nod, and he notched 337 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his team’s playoff win over the wounded Eagles.
However, stud wide receiver Mike Evans will also become a free agent, so the Buccaneers will need to use their finite salary cap space judiciously in order to remain a legitimate playoff threat next season.
But Mayfield seemed to be their biggest priority, as he has finally achieved the potential many saw in him when he first entered the NFL in 2018.
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