Tampa Bay Buccaneers Eyeing Quarterback Mayfield

The Tampa Bay Buccanneers are battening down the hatches for a major rebuild, and they're apparently targeting a former first-overall pick to see them through. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, the Bucs are targeting Baker Mayfield as a potential starting quarterback option.

When free agency begins, the #Bucs are expected to target ex-#Rams QB Baker Mayfield as a potential starting QB option, per me and @MikeGarafolo. This could be competition for Kyle Trask, their former 2nd-round pick, who the team likes a lot. As TB plots life without Tom Brady… pic.twitter.com/9PmbTG0tYW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2023

Mayfield started 10 games for the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams last season, winning two games while averaging 180.3 passing yards per game with a sub-standard 79.0 passer rating. He's best remembered for his four up-and-down seasons with the Cleveland Browns, where he compiled a 29-30 record while averaging 226.2 passing yards per game with a middling 87.8 passer rating but also led them to their first and only postseason win since 1994.

The Bucs stumbled to a disappointing 8-9 record and a first-round playoff exit in 2022, and they appear resigned to a rebuilding season in the wake of Tom Brady's retirement. They're cap-strapped to the point that they're out of the running for credible veteran quarterbacks, which leaves them chasing the Mayfields of the world. Mayfield is unlikely to lift the Buccaneers to respectability in 2023 (Brady could barely achieve the feat last year), but he can probably draw some eyeballs as the franchise sorts out its roster for a year or two and searches for a new franchise quarterback.