Todd Bowles Hopes Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield Will Get Contract Worked Out
There are about two weeks remaining until the NFL's new league year begins. Ahead of that period, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are deep in the middle of contract negotiations with their top two free agents; quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans. The pair of offensive stars were crucial to the Buccaneers' run to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Retaining Mayfield and Evans won't be cheap but it's a necessary investment for a franchise that already lost its offensive coordinator and multiple faces from the coaching staff this offseason. Tampa Bay can't afford to completely dismantle an offense that displayed plenty of promise and big-play potential.
Head coach Todd Bowles hopes that the Buccaneers and Mayfield can get everything worked out with a contract extension. He briefly dove into the subject while appearing on Good Morning Football at the NFL Combine.
"It's an extremely high priority, obviously. We've got a couple days before the league year begins but we love Baker. Baker had a heck of a year, he fit right in with us all the way around, the chemistry was outstanding with the receivers and the offense as a hole. We want to hope to build on that. I understand the business side of it. Like I said, we like Bake and we hope that things get worked out."
Mayfield signed with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million in incentives. He's now projected to make an average of over $30 million per season during his next deal following the best year of his career.
The former No. 1 overall pick completed 364/566 passes (64.3%) for 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns to ten interceptions. He also added 163 yards and a score on the ground during the regular season. Mayfield led the Buccaneers to an upset victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card. In the process, he became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for over 300 passing yards and three touchdowns in a playoff game.
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