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.
The Buccaneers signed kicker B.T. Potter on Monday, the team announced.
In a corresponding move, the Bucs waived punter Aidan Laros.
Potter entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Steelers. He spent the 2023 preseason.
That is Potter’s only NFL experience.
He played collegiately at Clemson University (2018-22), appearing in 59 career games and converting 73-of-97 field-goal attempts (75.3 percent) and 234-of-235 extra-point attempts (99.6 percent) for a total of 453 kicking points. A two-time second-team All-ACC selection, Potter was also a Lou Groza Award semifinalist in 2022 after going 20-of-26 on field goals and 49-of-49 on extra points.
The Bucs signed Laros, an undrafted rookie, on May 12. He finished his career with two seasons at Kentucky after transferring from Charlotte, where he played two seasons. Laros began his career with one season at the University of Tennessee-Martin.
On Friday, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield made it clear that talks on a new contract are not going well. It remains to be seen whether that will change.
For now, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Mayfield’s representatives have not responded to the team’s opening offer.
Coupled with Mayfield’s comments, this means that Mayfield and company view the starting point as reflecting a bottom line that won’t be acceptable. So why bother to respond?
Here’s the problem. If Mayfield has a number in mind (and he clearly does), the initial position in response to the first offer will need to be sufficiently higher than the opener in order to get to the preferred ending spot via negotiation. So if Mayfield comes in with a number aimed at doing that and it leaks, Mayfield loses the P.R. war.
Mayfield’s current deal averages $33.3 million per year. He’s due $27 million in cash in 2026, with $5 million in available incentives. (There’s another $13 million that he’ll be paid in 2026, but that was earned in 2025. It pushes his 2026 base compensation to $40 million.)
The market currently tops out at $60 million per year for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (if we ignore the new-money average as to Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s latest contract). Where should Mayfield land between $33.3 million and $60 million?
On one hand, too many teams pay too much for quarterbacks. On the other hand, the market is the market.
It’s not Mayfield’s fault that Packers quarterback Jordan Love makes $55 million per year, or that Lions quarterback Jared Goff makes $53 million. (Or, for that matter, that the Dolphins paid quarterback Tua Tagovailoa $53.1 million per year.)
Where should Mayfield land? Apparently, the team’s opening offer points to a final offer that won’t be good enough.
The question becomes whether the Buccaneers would use the franchise tag on Mayfield in 2027. After he finished a one-year deal in 2023, the Bucs didn’t tag Mayfield. Other teams that were looking for a quarterback didn’t make a move. (Some should have.)
Mayfield is surely willing to bet on himself. And, for as much as the Buccaneers claim to love Mayfield, they need to back that up with something that better reflects his value. Or they’d better have a good plan for life without Baker in 2027.
Baker Mayfield’s take on his contract situation was the juiciest bit of information to come out of his first media session of the offseason, but he also had a chance to weigh in on a significant change to the team’s receiving corps.
Mike Evans left for the 49ers as a free agent and Mayfield said that there’s no way to sugarcoat that it is “disappointing to not have him back” for the 2026 season. Mayfield then pivoted to praising Chris Godwin’s leadership of a receiving corps and expressing confidence in a group that also includes Jalen McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Tez Johnson, and third-round pick Ted Hurst.
“To also have J-Mac, Chris and Emeka really, really healthy right now, feeling good — to lead those guys and just to watch the steps from Year 1 to Year 2 when it comes to Meck and Tez and watching them help Ted Hurst out as well,” Mayfield said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “There’s a lot of weapons in that room. And so when you lose a guy like that, you got to have a lot of people fill those shoes, not just one person and we have that.”
If the Bucs don’t sign Mayfield to an extension ahead of the season, his performance with that group of wideouts will likely determine whether there’s an appetite for continuing the relationship in Tampa. If that appetite does not develop, the Bucs could be looking at another significant change next offseason.
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is entering the final year of his contract.
He has re-established himself as a starting quarterback, having played every game for the Buccaneers over the last three years, leading the team to a pair of division titles.
But what of the future?
Mayfield told reporters on Friday that negotiations with the Buccaneers are ongoing. But they aren’t necessarily going to his liking.
“First and foremost, regardless, we’ve built roots here in Tampa. We love the community, we love being here. They’ve embraced us. We enjoy being here and, obviously, are going to raise kids here,” Mayfield said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “But the contract stuff, it’s happening, it’s starting — talks and whatnot. But, not anywhere close to what we were thinking. So, would love to be here long-term, and as of right now, that’s not exactly the case. But I’m under contract for 2026. The guys in that locker room, the staff know that I’m still going to be me — I’m still going to do everything I can to help this team win a Super Bowl. To me, that’s the priority. Everything else will take care of itself.
“Obviously, yes, I would love to have a long-term deal done. But, they know my deadline — as soon as training camp starts, we’re not doing [anymore] contract stuff. It’s all ball. So, it’s not up to me when that gets done by. So, hopefully before that. If not, we’re still going to have a good year.”
Mayfield’s last deal was for three years and $100 million, putting him at an average annual value of $33.3 million. He’s currently set to count $39.975 million against the cap in 2026.
With offseason programs coming to an end, it stands to reason that the Buccaneers will try to work out a new deal with Mayfield and his representation over the coming weeks — particularly if Mayfield has a hard deadline of the start of training camp.
