Report: Tampa Bay Buccaneers dark horses to land veteran quarterback
Soon to be former Cleveland Browns' quarterback Baker Mayfield has emerged as a candidate to be traded to another team since the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson. At this point, it seems Baker will become a backup quarterback for a team as most of the 32 NFL teams have settled on their starters for the 2022 season.
Charles Robinson from Yahoo.com, suggests that there are two dark horse teams to watch when it comes to a possible trade candidate for the veteran QB. The first team he mentions is the Tennessee Titans and the second, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The excerpt from his article on why the Bucs are a dark horse reads as follows.
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"Tampa Bay Buccaneers are probably heading into their last season with hall of fame quarterback Tom Brady at the helm. Brady retired to just un-retire, but actual retirement has to be in the books soon."
"Mayfield could sit behind Brady for this season, maybe even playing in some mop up duty. If the Buccaneers felt good enough about his future, they could sign Mayfield to an extension. It would be a fresh start for Mayfield and the Buccaneers would have something to work with after Brady is gone."
In a previous article, I spoke on why it wouldn't be such a bad idea for the Bucs to pursue Baker in a trade scenario. However, I also mentioned the struggles and roadblocks it would take for Tampa Bay to land him. Brandon Little reiterated my statements on the reasons it would be smart for the Bucs to at least take a gander at the veteran quarterback.
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At this time, however, it appears that teams will most likely be waiting till during or after April's NFL draft to make a move for Mayfield. That is one possibility. On the other hand, teams may also be waiting to see if the Browns ultimately decide to just release the QB if they are not able to find a viable trade candidate.
Either way, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should absolutely look to find a viable backup and possible successor to Tom Brady. Trask could be the answer, but his lack of experience as an NFL starting QB hinders that possibility; at least for now. Bringing in a QB, like Mayfield, who has starting NFL experience could help the franchise maintain its high level of play beyond the Brady years.
