Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A former first-round pick is hanging up his cleats.
The Eagles placed defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on the reserve/retired list on Tuesday, according to the league’s transaction wire.
Tryon-Shoyinka, the Bucs’ No. 32 overall pick in 2021, had signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia in late March. But, according to multiple reporters, he had not been around much during the offseason program. And now, he’s elected to move on.
Tryon-Shoyinka spent his first four seasons with the Buccaneers, recording 15.0 sacks in 66 games with 45 starts.
He signed with the Browns in the 2025 offseason and played eight games for the club before being traded to the Bears. He was on the field for another eight games for Chicago, but did not play in the club’s two postseason games.
Additionally, the league’s transaction wire notes that Philadelphia waived defensive back Brandon Johnson on Tuesday. The club also officially added safety Shaun Wade and signed receiver Erik Ezukanma.
Bucs Clips
The upcoming season of Netflix’s Quarterback show will feature Baker Mayfield, Jayden Daniels, Joe Flacco and Cam Ward. Getting Mayfield on board took some work.
Mayfield said today that he was asked to do it in the first two years that the show aired and turned it down. But Peyton Manning, a producer of the show, convinced him he could do it without it being a distraction.
“Turning it down the first few times, I think for me it was, it seems like it’s a ‘me, me, me’ thing and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be like that,” Mayfield said. “So, talking to guys that have done it in the past, continuous conversations with Peyton Manning, it’s really not that invasive.”
Mayfield said the show, which filmed mostly during the 2025 season, proved to be a welcome opportunity to capture what life is like right now for himself, his wife and their young daughter.
“Just for me a couple of sitdown interviews outside of the building and capturing some family footage,” Mayfield said. “I wanted to get a lot of that stuff captured just as the phase of life that we’re going through right now in the next the next chapter of the journey for us. But also I think, I do it to myself, but people have a persona or an idea about who I am until you really get to know me, which is fine. And so I hope that gives an insight to the fact that uh I truly love this game. I love my teammates, and I I bust my ass.”
Ultimately, he said, everyone on board respected that he wouldn’t do anything that would distract from his primary focus.
“They know that all I want to do is win,” Mayfield said. “So as long as that wasn’t going to be a distraction, as long as it wasn’t going to take away from the real goals at hand, it was going to be OK, and that they made sure of that.”
The last time Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke to reporters, he said contact talks are “not anywhere close” to being where they need to be. He met with reporters on Tuesday, and he was asked where things currently stand.
“Pretty much the same,” Mayfield said, via Rick Stround of the Tampa Bay Times. “But for me, like I told you guys, it’s not gonna affect how I approach this. Things will happen when they should, but for now I’m worried about getting better each day, finishing minicamp, and this offseason program the right way, and going into training camp. So, just handle it one day at a time.”
Mayfield is on the books for $27 million this year. While some have suggested he’ll be making $40 million in 2027, $13 million was carried over from 2025.
The key number, for 2027, is his cap number in 2026. It’s $39.975 million. By rule, that means his franchise tender would be $47.97 million.
The standard quarterback franchise tender for 2026 was $43.895 million.
After finishing a one-year deal in 2023, Mayfield signed a three-year, $100 million contract to remain with the Buccaneers.
As veteran starting quarterbacks go, a broad range has been established. The low end is in the neighborhood of $20 million. The top of the market, given the new Patrick Mahomes contract, exceeds $63 million.
Some think the Buccaneers believe that, at the end of the day, they’ll offer more to keep Mayfield than another team would offer to sign him in free agency. The more immediate question is whether Mayfield will take the best offer the team makes before the start of training camp, if Mayfield intends (as he has said) to halt talks once camp opens.
As the Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield negotiate a long-term contract extension that would keep Mayfield in place as the franchise quarterback for years to come, the team wants to make sure Mayfield keeps himself healthy for years to come.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Bucs are concerned that Mayfield continues to neglect his health, with nagging injuries that could be avoided coming as a result of Mayfield not getting rid of the ball, getting down or getting out of bounds.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles described “understanding how to get down and putting himself out of harm’s way,” as one of the things Mayfield can do to help get the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl. Mayfield has started all 17 games in all three of his seasons in Tampa Bay, but Bowles said it’s about being healthy when he plays and not having to play through aches and pains late in the season.
“No, he’s not going to miss any games, but he can take a little bit better care of himself in certain situations,” Bowles said. “I understand when he’s a yard and a half or two from a first down, but not when it’s 10 yards or eight yards from the first down when he can get up and live another day. Unless it’s fourth and 10 in Houston and the game is on the line, and I understand why he’s doing those types of things. But if we can take care of that, we’ll be fine.”
Bowles said that sliding to avoid hits when he runs the ball is an element of his game that Mayfield can improve upon.
“Getting down, he can do a little bit better job,” Bowles said. “I’m not saying all of them, but there are two or three where he’d like to have back where he can get down and not hurt himself.”
With a contract extension likely coming, the Buccaneers hope the 31-year-old Mayfield has many healthy years left in him.
The Buccaneers will open eight of their training camp practices to fans this summer.
The team announced those plans on Monday and the first of those practices will be on July 30. That will be one of three practices that are open to the general public with the others coming on August 6 and 7.
Attendance will be limited to season ticket holders for the team’s practices on July 31, August 4, and August 9. The Bucs will also hold a practice for Jr. Bucs members on August 2 and a military day on August 3.
The team will report to camp on July 29 and they’ll play their first preseason game on the road against the Jets on August 14. They will practice with the Jets ahead of that game and also have joint practice work scheduled ahead of a game against the Jaguars.
The new Patrick Mahomes contract covers eight seasons and averages, from signing, a payout of $63.093 million per year. That pushes the market to unprecedented heights. And it brings into focus the next wave of quarterback deals.
So let’s take a look at the quarterbacks who’ll use the Mahomes contract as a key data point for ongoing or upcoming negotiations.
Lamar Jackson, Ravens.
Jackson has wanted a new deal for more than a year. His current contract averaged $52.5 million per year from signing. At the time it was finalized, he was the highest paid player in the league. He has now slid down to the bottom of the top 10. Mahomes getting to $63.09 million, especially while still recovering from a torn ACL, will only strengthen Lamar’s resolve.
Jackson currently has $104 million remaining on his current contract, over the next two years. With a no-tag clause, he can kick the can through the next two seasons and become an unrestricted free agent. It gives him significant leverage, and Mahomes’s contract likely nudges Lamar’s reasonable expectations from at least $60.1 million per year (based on Dak Prescott’s latest deal) to at least $63.1 million annually.
Joe Burrow, Bengals.
In 2023, after his first three NFL seasons, Burrow agreed to a seven-year deal with an average from signing of $44.28 million per year and a new-money average of $55 million. He has four years left with a total payout of $163.539 million, an average of $40.88 million.
His recent restructuring was a cap-creation device, with no new money. The Bengals, who are extremely careful with money, may not be inclined to tear up the current deal and replace it with a new contract.
For his part, Burrow may not be inclined to extend his commitment to the team. His discontent after three straight non-playoff seasons has become more obvious. As he enters his seventh season in Cincinnati, Burrow could be thinking about reaching the same conclusion Carson Palmer did after his eighth.
Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers.
He has said talks on a deal that would extend his $33.3 million per year contract are nowhere close to where he thought they’d be. The Buccaneers could tag him in 2027, or they could let him hit the open market.
Some think the Bucs wouldn’t use the franchise tag; with a 2026 cap number of $39.975 million, Mayfield’s 2027 franchise tender would be at least $47.97 million. There’s a sense in some circles that the Bucs believe they’ll ultimately offer him more than anyone would in free agency, if a new deal isn’t done before Mayfield’s self-imposed deadline of the start of training camp.
C.J. Stroud.
The Texans repeatedly have proclaimed that he’s their guy. But they have yet to do for him what they’d done for cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and defensive end Will Anderson — sign the first-round pick to a new deal before his fourth season.
The challenge at this point comes from putting a number on his second contract. There’s a broad range when it comes to veteran quarterback pay. Where would Stroud fit?
Currently, the number would be lower than it could be for Stroud, if he has a strong fourth season. Since the Texans realize that, at this point, they’d be only bidding against themselves, there’s no reason to rush the process.
Caleb Williams, Bears.
The first overall pick in the 2024 draft becomes eligible for a new deal after the 2026 regular season. And Williams has been very focused on the business realities of the NFL, from even before he was drafted.
When the time comes for Williams to get a new deal, the Mahomes number will drive the discussion. Especially if Williams continues to be on a trajectory that could put him among the top four or five quarterbacks in football.
We’ve already heard talk of Williams having expectations that would be more than eye-popping. And we also expect that Williams will make it known that he wants his contract not after the 2026 postseason ends, but promptly upon the opening of the window for a new deal after the Bears face the Vikings in Week 18.
Why carry the injury risk into the 2026 postseason? No quarterback on his rookie deal has tried to do that, even though the CBA wrinkle has been hiding in plain sight since 2011.
Jayden Daniels, Commanders.
Like Williams, Daniels becomes eligible for a new deal after the 2026 regular season. His main goal should be to reestablish himself after a disappointing and injury-plagued second season, during which he played only seven of 17 games.
If Daniels returns to his rookie form, he’ll be joining Williams as a quarterback looking for a second contract.
Drake Maye, Patriots.
The player who finished second in the MVP voting to cap his second season also has his window open after the 2026 regular season. And the Patriots will be hoping that, like Tom Brady before him, Maye will be less inclined to break the bank and more inclined to ensure that there will be cap space to have a quality team around him.
Brady, who entered the league as the 199th overall pick, had naturally lower expectations early in his career. Maye, the third overall pick who was denied the commensurate reward due to the rookie wage scale, may not be as charitable as Brady was.
Bo Nix, Broncos.
Nix’s window likewise opens after the 2026 regular season. He’ll need to show he has fully recovered from the foot injury suffered late in the AFC playoff win over the Bills. And he’ll need to do even more in Sean Payton’s offense to unlock a major deal.
Regardless, there’s a new high bar — and his contemporaries from the 2024 draft could add more data points.
That raises another question, as to Williams, Daniels, Maye, and Nix. Who goes first? There will be a competition among the agents to emerge with the best deal. This could prompt some of them to wait until the others jump in the pool first.
Sam Darnold, Seahawks.
Darnold’s three-year, $100.5 million contract from 2025 was structured to give the Seahawks an escape hatch after one year. It wasn’t structured to force the team back to the table if Darnold leads the team to a Super Bowl win.
With $27.5 million in base pay and up to $5 million in available incentives, Darnold would be justified to seek a new deal. The Seahawks may want to wait until 2027.
Regardless, Mahomes’s new contract will be a factor, whenever it’s time to sit down and work out a new contract.
The Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield are on a contractual collision course. For now, Tampa Bay G.M. Jason Licht is treading lightly.
“We’ve had some discussions and we’ll continue to have some internal discussions and see, and try to bring this to closure one way or another,” Licht said regarding Mayfield’s contract in an interview with JP Peterson of FanStreamSports.com (via JoeBucsFan.com). “But no one wants to see Baker go anywhere, and no one’s worried about how Baker’s mindset is going to be. I’ve had conversations with him about that. He’s all about wanting to win. So he’s in a good place.”
The phrase “closure one way or another” seems fairly loaded. It means they’ll either get a deal done before Mayfield’s stated deadline of the launch of training camp, or they won’t. If they don’t, the clock will start ticking on Mayfield’s potential free agency.
“I respect Baker,” Licht said. “He’s free to say whatever he wants to say. And that’s the way he’s wired and I have nothing but love for Baker. I’ll keep all that stuff internal; I never use the media for [talking about negotiations].”
Licht didn’t rule out using the franchise tag to keep Mayfield in place for 2027. The last time his contract expired, after the 2023 season, the Buccaneers didn’t apply it. Mayfield re-signed with the Bucs.
The three-year, $100 million deal doesn’t properly reflect his current value, given the market. Whether the Bucs will meet his expectations remains to be seen.
For now, Mayfield has said the two sides are “not anywhere close.” If the gap isn’t bridged fairly soon, the Bucs may need to start making plans at the quarterback position in 2027 — and other teams should start thinking about whether they’ll pursue Mayfield.
There are issues for the Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield to work out on the business side, but there’s been no issues on the football side of things.
That was the message from head coach Todd Bowles on Thursday. Mayfield is heading into the final year of his contract with the Buccaneers and talks about an extension have been at a standstill, which led Mayfield to say that he won’t continue talks if a new deal isn’t in place at the start of training camp.
Bowles said there’s “absolutely no question” he wants Mayfield as the team’s long-term quarterback and that the off-field situation hasn’t impacted anything on the field.
“Baker’s a true pro,” Bowles said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “I don’t think there’s any disappointment whatsoever. I mean, he loves it here. We love him here. The contract stuff takes care of itself, whether it’s the quarterback or any other position that comes up — those things get worked out over time. You just concentrate on what we got to concentrate on, on the field, and he’s been great right there.”
There’s no guarantee that Mayfield will land the contract he wants with the Buccaneers, but making a compelling case for his value with his play isn’t going to do anything to hurt his cause.
The Buccaneers didn’t practice on Tuesday, by choice. They didn’t practice on Wednesday, not by choice.
“We gave them off Tuesday; Tuesday was their day off,” coach Todd Bowles said Thursday, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. “Wednesday was by the league, because at the first practice we had too many guys on the ground, so they took a practice from us. So Wednesday was by their doing, Tuesday was already set in motion by our doing. And they cleaned it up after that. We understand. We aren’t trying to get anybody hurt. That was the basis of it.”
Bowles said “about three or four plays” created the issue.
“We’re trying to practice safety as well,” Bowles said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys trying to learn how to practice, but we cleaned that up and kind of took care of it.”
It’s not easy to get the players to dial it back — especially the ones that are trying to move from the 90-man roster to the final 53-man roster. Still, the team is responsible to keep things from going too far.
Even with periodic glitches, it’s not as bad as it used to be. Twenty years ago, contact was rampant in offseason workouts. To the point where some offensive linemen wanted to wear pads, since their shoulders were getting banged around by helmets.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said last month that the team expects running back Bucky Irving to return to action “sometime in the summer or fall” and things appear to be moving a little more quickly.
Multiple reporters at Thursday’s OTA practice session shared videos of Irving in uniform working in drills with the rest of the team. It is the first time that has happened at a practice open to the media since Irving had shoulder surgery early in the offseason.
Irving missed seven games last season and ended the year with 173 carries for 588 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 30 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bucs will wrap up their offseason program with next week’s minicamp.