Garafolo: Mayfield and Bucs not close on new deal

Mayfield didn’t speak to reporters after practice because of the illness, but the team didn’t limit his practice reps. It’s possible the Bucs lighten his workload over the next two days, but he should be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Mayfield will look to get back on track after a sluggish start to the season. He has fallen into the QB2 ranks until further notice.

Mayfield, after throwing for just 216 yards and fumbling three times in Week 1 against the Bengals, was just as bad against Cleveland. He took three sacks and held on to the ball far too long on several drop backs in the second half. His only touchdown went to a wide open Emeka Egbuka from eight yards out. Mayfield missed a couple easy throws that could have gone for long gains, and overthrew Ted Hurst three times after Hurst had beaten the Cleveland secondary. With his late-season struggles bleeding into the 2026 campaign, Mayfield won’t be a one-QB league option in Week 3 against the Vikings.

Playing his first game since landing a three-year extension, Mayfield provided as many touchdowns for the other team as he did the Bucs. His score was a rugged nine-yard rush late in the fourth quarter, but his touchdown gift was a 27-yard fumble-six in the first. Mayfield was drifting trying to avoid pressure but never felt one of the oncoming rushers. Another one of his giveaways came on a reckless red zone rush where he was practically begging to turn the ball over. Mayfield, as always, contained multitudes. Emeka Egbuka was his leading receiver, but Bucky Irving caught the most passes. The running back leading the team in catches is not usually going to get it done. Looking to bounce back from this error-prone mess, Mayfield gets the Browns for the Bucs’ Week 2 home opener.

The Buccaneers apparently reached out to Mayfield’s agent over the weekend; deadlines do drive action after all. Mayfield is now under contract through his age-34 season. It’s not exactly a curious move for the Buccaneers — they didn’t have much of an avenue to find another quarterback given where they usually pick and rookie UDFA Jalon Daniels is their current backup. It is still a little surprising they let it twist in the wind as long as it did. Mayfield likely will be near the $50 million average annual value club once all the figures come in. (Some of this will be folded into the already-existing one-year contract.) He’ll be a reasonable superflex QB2 with a shot to rebound now that last year’s injuries are behind him.

Licht during a Wednesday presser said the Bucs were “on to Cincinnati” with the regular season less than two weeks away. Licht has called Mayfield a franchise quarterback, but has not offered the veteran a long-term deal ahead of the 2026 season. Mayfield could be on his way out of Tampa in 2027 unless the team decides to use the franchise tag on him. Mayfield ranks 11th out of 40 qualifying QBs in adjusted EPA per drop back since the start of the 2024 season, ahead of Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott, among others.

Mayfield played just two series and was without his top four receivers, with only Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell joining him as presumed regular starters. Even so, the offense was hardly able to showcase its upside against backup members of the Kansas City defense. Whether Mayfield and the rest of the starters play in the team’s final preseason game next week remains to be seen, but there appears to be significant room for improvement before they kick off the regular season against the Bengals in three weeks.

If Mayfield is to be believed, the Bucs don’t want to pay him like a franchise passer. Mayfield told ESPN last week that he was offered a two-year deal worth less than $50 million per year by the Bucs. Coming off a down season, Licht apparently wasn’t willing to commit to his supposed franchise quarterback long-term. Now Mayfield will play out the final year of his current contract before becoming a free agent next offseason. If he plays well, expect the Bucs to use the franchise tag to prevent him from leaving.

Tampa’s two-year offer to Mayfield was reportedly close to “two years worth of franchise tags,” so it certainly seems like they’re going to do this after the season. Mayfield, entering into his age-32 season in 2027, would then be a potential trade candidate or could negotiate a long-term extension with Buccaneers depending on how this year goes. It does seem like the Bucs don’t really have any intention on letting Mayfield leave despite not extending him.

This is presumably in reference to the comments Mayfield made publicly on Thursday, when he said he felt “disrespected a little bit” about the fact that the two sides had not agreed to a contract extension earlier this offseason. Mayfield officially tabled negotiations with the team at the start of training camp and appears set to play out 2026 on the final year of a three-year, $100 million contract he signed with the team in 2024. Mayfield, who also said he felt “undervalued” by the team, is coming off a down season in which he threw for 3,693 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but he also played through injuries and was without his top weapon, Mike Evans, for much of the season. Another strong season like we saw from Mayfield in 2024 (4,500-41-16) will be guaranteed to drive up his asking price next offseason.

Mayfield added that he was looking to make $50 million per year and the Bucs’ offer was “pretty far” from that figure. Based on Mayfield’s comments, the Bucs wanted to offer him nearly the same contract as Daniel Jones. Though Mayfield is coming off a down year, his track record in Tampa Bay is far better than Jones’ in Indy, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he declined their proposal. Now he is heading into a contract year, with the potential to make a fortune in free agency if he has a rebound season.