Baker Mayfield Labeled 'Insufficient' for Buccaneers in 2024

   

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the unenviable task of replacing Tom Brady under center after the 2022 season, and general manager Jason Licht took a flyer on veteran Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield was fresh off a short stint with the Rams and signed to a one-year, $4 million "prove it" deal by Licht and the Bucs. And boy, did he ever "prove it."

Baker Mayfield Labeled 'Insufficient' for Buccaneers in 2024

The former Heisman Trophy winner earned a three-year, $100 million deal from the Bucs and posted a second-straight career season. In 2024, Mayfield posted 4,500 yards while completing 71.4 percent of his passes with 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions as the Bucs posted a 10-7 record to win the South for the fourth straight time.

But that wasn't good enough for one analyst.

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon inexplicably called out Mayfield in a recent article, and called him "insufficient" last season.

"The 2018 No. 1 overall pick led the NFC in touchdown passes but also in interceptions," Gagnon wrote. "And that combined with extreme inconsistency just doesn’t suffice on a decent-not-great team."

Mayfield hasn't been perfect for the Bucs by any stretch, but he's been exactly what the team needed in the post-Brady era. And Jason Licht has zero regrets for taking a chance on the former Oklahoma Sooner.