The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are being reminded of what the rest of the league thinks of them now that they are officially living in a post-Tom Brady era.
Since Brady’s retirement in February, the Buccaneers’ season has been pronounced finished before it has even begun. Whether it was experts forecasting a trade up for Will Levis (how did that go?) or commentators openly expecting the Bucs to tank for a top draft pick, Tampa Bay has once again degraded to becoming an afterthought in the bigger discourse.
The signing of Baker Mayfield in March was the icing on the cake for those seeking for an opportunity to mock Tampa Bay. The decision was dunked on, everyone made the same weak joke about the optics of switching from Brady to Baker, and the team was buried once more.
After the NFL Draft, Peter King named the Buccaneers the league’s second-worst club, while failing to commit more than a jot to them in his power rankings. That appears to be a recurring trend in the national media, but not everyone is grabbing at low hanging fruit when it comes to the Bucs and their chances this season.
Former NFL quarterback believes Baker Mayfield can lead the Buccaneers to the playoffs
Former quarterback Ryan Leaf praised Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Good Morning Football. If you have to perform a double take, it’s probably because Leaf is deviating from what appears to be the national narrative of pessimism to say something nice.
Leaf was speaking with former Buccaneers great Gerald McCoy when he stated that he believes Baker Mayfield will not only be the starting quarterback in Tampa Bay, but will also lead the team back to the playoffs.
“I like him to be the starter in Tampa Bay,” Lead stated. “I think he can do a good enough job to make them a possible playoff contender in that division.”
Leaf mentions a major source of motivation that appears to be gradually developing with each passing day. Both Mayfield and the Buccaneers are facing difficulties, as the rest of the league has already written them off as little more than a footnote for the upcoming season.
“I admire his ability to overcome adversity,” Leaf remarked of Mayfield. “How the Cleveland Browns and that city, that team treated him and just kinda threw him out, and how he’s battled back — I really like how he’s taken care of himself and handled his business.”
The Bucs are longshots to win the Super Bowl at online sportsbooks.
Adversity hangs over the Buccaneers’ OTAs like the ‘Believe’ sign in Ted Lasso
Caleb Williams, a quarterback who does not play for the Buccaneers, has received more attention in Tampa Bay than the quarterbacks who are currently on the team. Each additional crappy video from OTA that gets slammed on by Twitter users simply adds to the chip on everyone’s shoulder and confirms that the Bucs are doomed.
While it’s infuriating, it’s also very reasonable to mistrust the Bucs’ ability to compete this season. Last year, even with Brady, the Bucs barely made the playoffs and finished with a losing record. It’s easy to draw the conclusion that they’ll be much worse without Brady, but the squad still has talent all over the place.
Tampa Bay may not have Brady, but it still has talents like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Vita Vea, Antoine Winfield Jr., Lavonte David, Jamel Dean, and Tristan Wirfs on its roster. All of those are guys that any other team in the league would leap at the chance to sign, and they all play for the same squad.
It’s possible that the Bucs’ season is over and they’ll start over next season. The idea that they won’t be playoff contenders because of a few missed throws in OTAs is as ridiculous as burying them before they had a chance to prove themselves.