One of the pleasant surprises in the NFL during 2023 was the performance of quarterback Baker Mayfield. He signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made the most of his opportunity.
After beating out Kyle Trask in training camp to earn the starting quarterback spot, he responded with the best season of his career. Baker Mayfield set career highs in completion percentage, yards and touchdowns.
On the back of such a strong season, the Buccaneers re-signed him in free agency to a three-year deal. However, some analysts don’t foresee a repeat of 2023 for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Over at CBS Sports , several NFL writers and analysts made predictions on quarterbacks for the 2024 season. They separated them into groups of who would overachieve and who would underachieve.
Baker Mayfield ended up in the underachieving portion of the article. A major reason for that is the change the Buccaneers’ coaching staff underwent.
A lot of credit for his turnaround in 2023 was given to offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, Canales did such a good job that the Carolina Panthers hired him to be their next head coach.
“Baker is an easy guy to root for, and a perfect fit for the scrappy Buccaneers. He leaves it all on the line, and he fully earned his new deal to be Tampa Bay’s quarterback of the near future.
Yet isn’t it possible we’re putting a little too much stock into a 9-8 season in which he almost didn’t escape the NFC South? We’ve had five years of Mayfield as a starter, and two of them have been playoff-caliber.
He may well have the Bucs fighting at the top of the South again, but he still feels more like a spoiler than a contender,” Cody Benjamin wrote .
How will Baker Mayfield adjust to new offensive coordinator Liam Coen? The two overlapped in 2022 when Mayfield ended up with the Los Angeles Rams, so there is some familiarity to build on.
Some regression to the mean can be expected for Baker Mayfield after a great 2023. But for him to land in the underachieving section, it likely means expectations were set too high.
Given the current construction of the Buccaneers roster, no one is expecting them to contend for a Super Bowl. If Baker Mayfield can keep them in contention for the NFC South title or a Wild Card spot, that should be considered another strong campaign.
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The post Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield Lands Ominous Prediction For 2024 appeared first on NFL Analysis Network .
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