The Buccaneers have found a way to keep their team together, retaining key free agents who could have gone anywhere they wanted.
First, it was future Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans. Next, it was former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, who has gone through plenty of adversity en route to a $100 million deal.
During the press conference announcing Mayfield’s new three-year deal to stay put with the Bucs, G.M. Jason Licht was asked what Mayfield’s toughness means to the team.
“Well, it means everything,” Licht said. “He sets the tone for this team with his — well, for lack of a better word — probably one out of 10, he’s a 10 on the ‘prick’ scale. Sorry, Nelson [Luis, director of P.R.]. That’s what you want in your offensive linemen. Baker is kind of an offensive lineman in a quarterback’s body. It’s what has rallied this team this year. He’s a big part of it.”
Mayfield viewed it as the compliment it is. “Thank you, I’ll take that,” Mayfield said after he got his Madden rating on the “prick” scale.
That is his mentality. It’s part of a natural charisma that has been honed and focused through maturity. When he was younger, there were times when that 10 of 10 on the “prick” meter created issues. Now that he has matured, it’s a gift that makes him a true and effective leader.
Every starting NFL quarterback is, by definition, a leader. Some lead without trying. Some can’t lead, no matter how hard they try. (As one coach has observed about one other current NFL starting quarterback — both will remain nameless — “he couldn’t lead a lion to eat red meat.”)
Mayfield could get a squirrel to attack an elephant. And the squirrel would believe it can win. And I wouldn’t bet against that squirrel.
That’s what Mayfield brings to the table. Everyone but the Buccaneers missed it last year, when Mayfield signed a one-year, bargain-basement deal with the Bucs. Everyone missed it again this year, when no one else made the kind of offer that Mayfield wouldn’t have refused.
And so, at a time when the Falcons are paying Kirk Cousins $45 million per year on a four-year deal, the Bucs are getting a relative bargain on a contract that pays out $33.3 million over three. That’s nearly $12 million per year that can go elsewhere, in an effort to give Mayfield more guys much larger than squirrels whom he’ll be encouraging to go attack other guys much smaller than elephants.