After adding wide receiver Mike Evans and franchise-tagging safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to their roster, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting close to accomplishing all three of their main offseason objectives.
The only thing left to do for the Bucs this summer is to re-sign quarterback Baker Mayfield to complete the trifecta of moves.
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With the NFL’s open negotiating period starting on Monday, Mayfield could hit the open market once again, and at least one other team will likely enter into the conversation as a competitor for the quarterback’s services.
“Mayfield should have a robust market if he makes it to free agency since he’s the second-best option behind (Kirk) Cousins after a breakout year (4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, 10 interceptions),” says Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “He may even be a target for Minnesota if Cousins leaves. Mayfield made $4 million in 2023 and his next contract will likely exceed $30 million per year. Wide receiver Mike Evans just re-signed for significant money, so clearly the Buccaneers have no plans to rebuild. I think they pay up before Mayfield can hit free agency.”
Of course, the necessary move here for the Vikings to become contenders for Mayfield is that they fail to secure Cousins themselves for another year or more.
According to Rosenblatt’s projections, Cousins is most likely to wind up with the Atlanta Falcons this offseason.
“Atlanta wants Cousins,” he writes. “From Dianna Russini’s combine report: ‘They believe Cousins is the type of player who moves them from a fringe playoff team to a contender. New Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson both have familiarity with Cousins.’ The Falcons have an impatient owner who wants to win now. Their first target will be Cousins, who seems to be recovering well coming off Achilles surgery and would be jumping into an offense with a young, exciting group of weapons (Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts).”
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Seeing Cousins land in the NFC South and Mayfield leave for the North would be a combination of moves that would put a bit of a damper on the Buccaneers’ otherwise successful offseason thus far.
Tampa Bay would have to then turn to options like Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, or NFL Draft prospects like Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr.
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