The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for ways to improve after a tough 2025 season that saw them miss the playoffs altogether, ending their streak of NFC South division championships in the process. The 2025 season saw much frustration for several players on the Tampa Bay roster, including quarterback Baker Mayfield, who regressed significantly throughout the course of the season.
However, one person who isn't giving up hope on the former number over overall pick is Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.
“Our thoughts on Baker haven’t changed,” said Licht, per Greg Auman of Fox Sports on X, formerly Twitter.
Auman also noted that there is “no timetable on when (Licht) would like to extend Mayfield’s contract beyond 2026.”
Licht also spoke on the impending free agency of wide receiver Mike Evans.
“We’d love to have Mike back,” he said, per Auman.
Evans missed a significant chunk of the 2025 season after suffering a collarbone injury against the Detroit Lions early in the season, but was able to return down the stretch.
Unfortunately, the Buccaneers were unable to make the playoffs despite winning their season finale against the Carolina Panthers, falling victim to a bizarre scenario in which the already eliminated Atlanta Falcons decided the winner of the division by beating the New Orleans Saints in the season's final week.
The Buccaneers will certainly want to see a better performance out of Mayfield next season before committing huge money to him. The quarterback was largely viewed as a potential MVP candidate heading into last year, but ended up falling off significantly down the stretch of the season, culminating in the missed playoffs bid.
Meanwhile, Evans is now well past his prime years, but is still a considerable downfield threat who had some big moments for Tampa Bay last season.
NFL free agency is slated to get underway on March 11.
