Could Baker Mayfield have a Pro Bowl season in 2023-24?
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season. Could he earn a trip to the Pro Bowl in his first year with the team?
Mayfield, who signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers earlier this offseason, will replace the retired Tom Brady. There's no pressure at all. It's not like he's taking over for the greatest quarterback of all time, right?
Baker Mayfield is headed to Tampa Bay, per multiple reports. https://t.co/QF1oouC4u4
Mayfield has had a really strange career since joining the NFL. After winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, he was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
The Texas native was obviously supposed to become Cleveland's franchise quarterback, but that never quite came to fruition. He lasted just four seasons with the team, posting a 29-30 record and only making the playoffs once (2020).
Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers last offseason. After playing only seven games with the team, he was released. Mayfield spent most of last season with the Los Angeles Rams, who claimed him off waivers.
He started four games for the Rams, filling in for the injured Matthew Stafford. In his first game with the team, he came through with a 98-yard game-winning drive against the Las Vegas Raiders. During an impressive 51-14 Week 16 win over the Denver Broncos, he completed 24 of his 28 pass attempts for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
Stafford will return next season, meaning Mayfield would've been a backup had he re-signed with the Rams. He will now be the starter in Tampa and has the opportunity to have a strong 2023-24 season.
Is a big-time season on the horizon for Baker Mayfield?
Baker Mayfield has never made the Pro Bowl during his up-and-down five-year career, but that doesn't mean it can never happen. Sometimes players just tend to have a Pro Bowl season out of the blue.
With the Buccaneers, Mayfield will have two great receivers to throw to in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Evans, a four-time Pro Bowler, has recorded over 1,000 receiving yards in all nine seasons and appears to be a future Hall of Famer. Godwin, meanwhile, has reached the 1,000-yark mark in three of the last four years. The highly productive duo could help Mayfield succeed next season.
Baker Mayfield is unlikely to lead Tampa to a Super Bowl like Brady did during his debut season with the franchise, but don't be totally shocked if he earns his first Pro Bowl selection.