Tampa Bay Buccaneers' backmost Baker Mayfield has been disrespected his full career.
After being the apical wide prime successful the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield spent the archetypal 4 seasons of his vocation with the Cleveland Browns. With Mayfield starring the way, the Browns became applicable again, adjacent earning a melodramatic playoff win against their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Despite Mayfield bringing the Browns retired of the NFL's cellar, the squad threw him retired similar garbage during their ill-fated pursuit of then-Houston Texans backmost Deshaun Watson.
Cleveland's acquisition of Watson, perchance the worst commercialized successful NFL history, led to an disfigured divorcement with Mayfield, which he inactive hasn't afloat gotten over.
After splitting the 2022 play betwixt the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, Mayfield recovered a location successful Tampa. But, helium had to gain it, signing a one-year, "prove-it" woody worthy up to $8.5 million, an unthinkable bargain for immoderate starting QB.
He did "prove it," making his archetypal Pro Bowl aft his archetypal play successful Tampa. The Bucs rewarded him with a three-year, $100 cardinal contract, inactive a bargain compared to the apical QBs successful the league.
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Despite stabilizing the backmost presumption successful Tampa and helping the Bucs stay competitory aft Tom Brady retired, Mayfield is inactive shown disrespect by the nationalist media.
Look nary further than Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports and his caller tier rankings of each starting QB successful the NFL.
DeArdo ranks each starting QB into 1 of six tiers. Tier 1 (Transcendent Stars) contains the accustomed suspects (Stafford, Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow). Tier 2 lists 12 "Borderline Stars," followed by 4 "Promising Prospects" successful Tier 3.
Mayfield finds himself successful Tier 4, entitled "Volatile Veterans." He is placed successful the aforesaid radical arsenic Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones, C.J. Stroud, and Bryce Young.
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What gives?
Mayfield has made 2 Pro Bowls successful his 3 seasons for Tampa. In his lone non-Pro Bowl play for the Bucs, 2025, Mayfield inactive threw for 3,693 yards, 26 TDs vs 11 interceptions, and finished with a coagulated QBR of 61.3, the second-highest of his career, each portion losing his apical moving backmost and apical 3 wide receivers from 2024 for a important chunk of the season.
What's truthful "volatile" astir that?
I'm not suggesting that Mayfield belongs successful Tier 1, but determination is an statement to beryllium made that helium is conscionable arsenic bully as, if not amended than, immoderate of the QBs successful Tier 2.
It's hard to judge guys similar Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy, Jayden Daniels, Jordan Love, and a mates of others are a afloat 2 tiers amended than Mayfield.
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Mayfield is utilized to being disrespected and does a large occupation of utilizing that disrespect arsenic motivation. These tiers volition springiness him different accidental to beryllium idiosyncratic wrong.
Hopefully, the Bucs and Mayfield tin rapidly find immoderate communal ground that keeps him successful Tampa for the agelong term. With Mayfield starring the way, the Bucs person a accidental to person a precise bully discourtesy successful 2026 and instrumentality to the playoffs aft a brief, one-year hiatus.
Mayfield has made a wont of making the radical who underestimate him look foolish.
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