The Bucks have just over 10 days left to re-sign QB Baker Mayfield before the game. Open negotiation period in free agency begins, other NFL teams will be allowed to contact Tampa Bay’s starters and make offers. General manager Jason Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg, the team’s capologist, are working hard to sign Mayfield to a lucrative extension by noon on March 11 at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. We are working on this.
If a deal doesn’t go through and Mayfield becomes a free agent, and the Falcons don’t opt to trade Bears quarterback Justin Fields, division rival Atlanta would be very interested in pursuing Mayfield. The Bucks’ worst nightmare could become a reality. The news was reported by Tony Poulin, a longtime NFL Draft insider, spoke to Sportskeeda.
Poulin writes: Of Mayfield’s other suitors, I can definitely say that one is the Atlanta Falcons, who I mentioned as a possibility a few weeks ago. The Falcons have been linked with Justin Fields, and unless a trade with the Chicago Bears is done soon after the merger, I predict Mayfield will be at the top of their wish list.
Losing Baker Mayfield to the Falcons would be the worst-case scenario for the Bucks.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
This news is consistent with what I reported in Pewter Report. Last week’s SR fab 5 On February 23rd, I wrote, The Atlanta Falcons were at the top of the list of potential suitors. If Mayfield were to become a free agent, he could potentially have multiple suitors, which would drive up his price and ultimately make it more difficult for the Bucks to re-sign him from a price standpoint. It can be difficult.
Reynolds wrote: The first team is Atlanta, rumored to be a potential trade for Georgia native and Chicago’s Justin Fields. Fields, a former first-round pick, struggled for four seasons with the Bears, but he is an exciting two-way quarterback, and Michael Vick once impressed the Falcons and the city of Atlanta.
If the Falcons don’t want to trade draft capital for a QB, they could set their sights on stealing Mayfield from a divisional rival. This is a double blow, as Atlanta could be one quarterback away from winning the NFC South, and taking the quarterback from Tampa Bay would end the Bucs’ hopes of winning a fourth straight division title. It will be.
The Falcons’ new offensive coordinator, Zach Robinson, spent time with Mayfield in Los Angeles at the end of the 2022 season, as did the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator, Liam Cohen. So Robinson has the benefit of Cohen’s familiarity with Mayfield.
![Bucks GM Jason Richt and QB Baker Mayfield](https://www.pewterreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Licht-Jason-Baker-Mayfield-Bucs-Falcons-300x200.jpg)
Bucks GM Jason Richt and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Atlanta’s offense appears to have the same weapons as Tampa Bay’s. The Falcons have two standout running backs in Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgaier, two very good tight ends in Jonnu Smith (free agent) and Kyle Pitts, and a promising young wide in Drake London. There’s a receiver. New head coach Raheem Morris just arrived in Atlanta, so the fact that he may have more job security than Todd Bowles could make the Falcons an interesting long-term option for Mayfield. do not have.
The Falcons have $38,519,013 in cap space, 13th in the league. Other than Smith, Atlanta also doesn’t have any major re-signings to deal with this offseason.
The Bucks met with Mayfield’s representatives in Indianapolis on Thursday to try to move negotiations in the right direction. However, this time, the outcome of the negotiations is unclear, other than that no agreement on an extension has been reached. The floor of Mayfield’s new contract in Tampa Bay is expected to be $30 million per year, but it will likely be in the mid-$30 million range.