Baker Mayfield is certainly not the greatest starting quarterback in the NFL. There are concerns that a diminutive quarterback like Mayfield, who stands at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, is injury-prone and unable to withstand the punishment imposed by a 300-pound defensive lineman over a 17-game season. There is always.
That could be one of the concerns the Bucks are addressing as they try to assess Mayfield’s value as he prepares to hit the free agent market.
But perhaps it shouldn’t be. Mayfield was very durable in his first season in Tampa Bay, overcoming several injuries and starting all 19 games, including two playoff appearances.
Mayfield’s salary is believed to start at the lower end of $30 million, with some arguing that it could reach $40 million per year, according to New York Giants QB Daniel Jones. Mayfield is a much better quarterback than Jones.
Nothing hinders a team’s success more than an injury to the starting quarterback.
And that’s something the Bucks need to consider when determining Mayfield’s value.
But history shows that Mayfield showed remarkable durability during his playing days, dating back to Oklahoma, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2017. Mayfield never missed a start for the Sooners, appearing in all 40 games over his final three seasons at Oklahoma.
Baker Mayfield has proven durable throughout his NFL career
Bucks QB Baker Mayfield – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Baker Mayfield has started 86 of the 89 games he played in his six-year NFL career. That makes him one of the league’s most reliable QBs despite being one of the smaller starters.
In fact, he never missed a start due to injury during his first three seasons in the league. Mayfield led Cleveland to a 10-6 record and a playoff win at Pittsburgh in the 2020 season, his third year in the league, but injuries hampered his performance and the Browns’ level of success in 2021. caused.
In 2021, Mayfield missed one game due to a positive COVID-19 test and two others due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Mayfield went 6-8 as a starter that year with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions after posting a career-best 26 TDs and just 8 INTs the year before in 2020.
This statistical slump led the Browns organization to pursue a trade for Houston’s Deshaun Watson, and Cleveland traded the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick to Carolina in the summer of 2022.
In 2022 at Carolina, Mayfield missed three games with an ankle sprain, was benched, and then was waived late in the season at his request. He started six of the seven games he played for the Panthers, going 1-5 as a starter. After being acquired from Los Angeles on waivers, Mayfield started four of five games with the Rams, posting a 1-3 record.
Bucks QB Baker Mayfield – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Mayfield struggled with knee, ankle, thumb and rib injuries in 2023, but did not miss a game in his first season in Tampa Bay. He started all 17 games for the Bucks, missing just a few snaps in Indianapolis after injuring his knee on a quarterback rush on the first drive of the game.
Indeed, Mayfield’s performance was affected by injuries during the season. His most notable time was in Carolina, when he dealt with a rib injury and reinjured his knee after being released. Although the Bucs did not score a touchdown in the 9-0 victory, Mayfield completed 20 of 32 passes for just 137 yards and forced three potential interceptions by Panthers defenders.
Nevertheless, Mayfield’s grit and determination prevailed, and the Bucs defeated their division rivals to win the team’s third consecutive NFC South championship in Week 18.
Part of the reason the Bucs have reigned atop the NFC South for so long is not only the fact that Tampa Bay had great starting QB talent starting in 2020, but also the fact that the Bucs’ starting QB But even more important is the fact that he has never missed a start. span.
QB health was the main reason the Bucs continued to win the NFC South.
Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo credit: Cliff Welch
that was very remarkable tom brady It maintained incredible durability until my early 40s. Brady arrived in Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2020 at age 42 and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV despite playing through a season with a knee injury. Brady played through pain and discomfort and never missed a start, leading the Bucs to an 11-6 victory and winning the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history that season.
After undergoing postseason knee surgery in 2021, Brady won a franchise-record 12 games and led the Bucs to the first of three straight NFC South titles without missing a start. The following year, at age 45, Brady would play his final season in the NFL as the Bucs won back-to-back district championships.
Brady started all 50 regular season games during his three years with the Bucs, finishing his career with Tampa Bay with a 32-18 record. He also started all seven of the Bucks’ playoff games from 2020-2022, posting a 5-2 record as a starter during that span.
Baker Mayfield continued that trend last year, starting 19 of 19 games in his first season in Tampa Bay, finishing with a 10-9 record.
Bucks FS Antwon Winfield Jr. and Falcons QB Desmond Ridder – Photo courtesy of USA Today
Carolina, on the other hand, has won just 19 games over the past four years, starting in 2020. And the Panthers have started six different quarterbacks over the past four seasons, some due to injury and some due to inactivity.
New Orleans was the last team to win the NFC South in 2020, during coach Drew Brees’ final NFL season. Over the past four years, the Saints have started seven different quarterbacks due to injuries or incompetence, which has been a big reason why they have missed the playoffs the past three seasons.
Matt Ryan was Atlanta’s starter for 14 years, making the Falcons a dangerous team in their prime with six playoff appearances, two district championships and one Super Bowl appearance. Ryan last played in Atlanta in 2022, and the Falcons have started four different quarterbacks since 2020. That, and Ryan’s underperformance during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, is why Atlanta is currently in a six-year playoff drought.
If the Bucks re-sign him Baker Mayfield, who turns 29 in April, is expected to have multiple free agent candidates. They’ll have high hopes for a lucrative contract extension this offseason, and hope he can remain durable throughout the length of his contract. But judging by Mayfield’s history of battling injuries, his durability shouldn’t be a big concern, even as he approaches 30.
