Baking In Tampa

There was a cloud of uncertainty in Tampa Bay as far as the quarterback position is concerned. Now that cloud has lifted. Baker Mayfield had entered training camp on the final year of his contract, and he was looking for an extension. Both sides had agreed that once camp started talks would stop. They haven't, because a couple days before the Buccaneers kicked the season off, Baker got his extension. Baker was signed Tuesday afternoon to a new extension for three years at $165 million. This will keep Baker here in Tampa through the 2029 season.

Baker got something he was looking for from the Bucs. he had said in the media prior to this that he never really intended to reset the market for quarterbacks, but he wanted to be fairly compensated for what he's been able to do with the Bucs during his time here in Tampa. And why not? Since Baker's gotten here in 2023, he led the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South titles, and he's put up some of the best offensive numbers of his career.

This has come off the heels of having defensive tackle Vita Fea signed to a new extension during camp. Both Vita and Baker's signings were a big talking point for the Bucs going into camp, and both have been signed to new extensions before the start of the season. Now it's about getting down to business and coming back from a disastrous second half of last year.

Baker coming off an injury plagued season last year, which lead to a dip in his numbers from the first two years in Tampa. He appears to have been healthy all of camp. This is the year for Baker to prove to not only himself but to the Buccaneers organization that they made the right investment in getting him his new extension.