There was a time when it felt like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers couldn't quite answer the question of who their franchise quarterback could and should be. Yes, there were the likes of Doug Williams, Vinny Testaverde, Shaun King, Chris Simms, Brian Griese, and even the enigma that is Jameis Winston, but the ones that have etched their name as Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl champions — Brad Johnson and Tom Brady — stand out amongst the rest.
While many of the Bucs' previous quarterbacks are recognizable, a solid portion weren't quite able to reach the mountaintop despite having solid careers in red and pewter.
Following Tom Brady's retirement following the 2022 season, Tampa Bay became tasked with locating their quarterback of the future. There was obviously plenty of buzz amongst the fan base on which direction the organization should go, however, the Bucs' front office decided to take a gamble on former first overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield had a tumultuous history at that point after fluctuating across the league in 2022, but he quickly found a home in Tampa Bay once being announced as a starter. Just last season, he had the best output of his career with recognition finally starting to flow in from the pundits.
Baker still isn't in a class such as that with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen, just to name a few, but he is proving that he can lead a team into the playoffs with the hopes of a potential Super Bowl run. And Mayfield is exactly why legendary Buccaneers' cornerback Ronde Barber believes this era of Bucs' football wouldn't be successful without him, as he expressed Mayfield's ability to put up points as a factor to help offset their defensive woes in a recent one-on-one interview.
“Baker’s really showed that he can be the guy,” Barber said. “They’ve been fortunate that they have Baker Mayfield and the dynamic offense. They can go out and score points and keep them in games. Otherwise, they're not winning.”
The Bucs' defense has notably struggled over the past few seasons, something that we have come to expect after years of being one of the top units in the league. Todd Bowles remains in charge of the defense, but he has recently had to change a bit of his approach and philosophy with the hopes of turning things around.
While the Bucs have been a slightly above-average team, their offense has flourished with Mayfield at the helm, especially in 2024 under the direction of former offensive coordinator Liam Coen on their way to a top-five offense in the league.
Things will be a bit different in Tampa Bay in 2025 with Coen now in Jacksonville coaching the Jaguars, but other than that change with Josh Grizzard filling Coen's former role, the Bucs will be returning their entire starting lineup from a season ago, including Baker Mayfield.
If the Bucs can continue to keep things rolling on the offensive side of the ball and Bowles can somehow figure out a way to turn his defense around, then this iteration of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make some serious noise in 2025.
