Free Agent QB Baker Mayfield

[UrbanCowboy]

If you are waiting until 26’ to draft your QB then you are waiting until at least 27’ to hope to really compete with them.

It's kinda like the San Francisco approach. Put together an awesome roster, such that a pretty marginal QB like Brock Purdy gives you a shot at the super bowl. Although they deviated with that insane trade for Trey Lance. Imagine if they had those picks. Now, their roster is starting to thin out and get expensive .. they may have blown their window, but two SB appearances ain't all that bad.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It's kinda like the San Francisco approach. Put together an awesome roster, such that a pretty marginal QB like Brock Purdy gives you a shot at the super bowl. Although they deviated with that insane trade for Trey Lance. Imagine if they had those picks. Now, their roster is starting to thin out and get expensive .. they may have blown their window, but two SB appearances ain't all that bad.

You want to use the model of one team that’s successful over all the playoff teams that built around first round QB’s?

 

[Jim Beankie]

It was Daniel’s who won the Johnny Unitas Award for Leadership and Academic Achievement. In fact he won all of the postseason awards for QB’s.


And if people are torn between Maye and Daniels that’s perfectly understandable, both are great prospects that will have to continue improving in the pro’s. But what gets me is that over and over I see people here making the argument that taking the 2nd or 3rd rated QB is too much of a gamble, unless it’s Maye, then they are ok with it. And again, if they don’t want Daniels that's fine. it’s their choice, but they should just say that, instead of pretending it’s too much of a gamble, unless it’s their guy, at which point it’s not too much of a gamble for them.

Oh wow that is very important info that I somehow missed / didn't know (as a Daniels guy originally well before the Heisman due to what I'd read about his work ethic and not the running around risking injury). Thanks! Good to see the big names were finalists.

EDIT: Mac won in 2020, so that award is tainted for me...

 

[Real fan 02]

The New England Patriots decision on their 2024 roster spots for QB has received a deservedly large portion of the recent debate on this forum. I'm going to throw at a name that has been discussed by some, but for the most part has been under the radar: Baker Mayfield.

Here is the premise: the Pats have many roster spots in dire need of an upgrade. They also own highly coveted draft capital: the number three overall pick in the draft. So what if the team did not feel compelled to draft a QB at that spot, having taken care of that in free agency? That would give them the freedom to use that pick on another position (MHJ at WR; Alt at OT), or trade down and amass more draft capital (likely to include another first round pick in 2025 - plus early draft picks at OT and WR).

Here is a link from the Tampa area's premier Bucs-related website, Pewter Report.

SR's Fab 5: Baker Mayfield Could Have Many Suitors In Free Agency

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield could have several suitors in free agency that could drive his price tag way up. Scott Reynolds names the possible teams.

www.pewterreport.com

The Bucs will most likely let quarterback Baker Mayfield test the free agent market to gauge his worth. That may not be what fans want to hear, but this has become a familiar practice deployed by general manager Jason Licht and assistant general manager Mike Greenberg.​

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The Bucs don’t want to risk overpaying players past their market value, but in Mayfield’s case, it could backfire next month.​

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Mayfield is coming off his first Pro Bowl season and a career year in which he threw for over 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. He should be one of the more sought-after quarterbacks in free agency this year. ...​

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But out of all these names, Cousins, Mayfield, Fields, Russell Wilson, and perhaps Tannehill will be the most sought after by teams looking for a starter. Mayfield, who turns 29 in April, might be the best free agent quarterback of the bunch.​

That all sounds good, until we get to the estimate of what Mayfield's price will be.

So Mayfield could be in real demand. I’m guessing Mayfield’s floor is $30 million per year. That’s $5 million more than Seattle’s Geno Smith got last year when the journeyman had a renaissance with the Seahawks, replacing Wilson and signing a three-year, $75 million deal.​

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If multiple teams emerge as suitors, it could really drive Mayfield’s price tag up, perhaps to $40 million per season, which is what New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones makes. Mayfield is better than Jones, and is perhaps on par with Dak Prescott, who also makes $40 million per year.​

Ouch. With all the Pats needs, would that much money be worth it to a rebuilding team? Or do we have enough confidence with the defense that is already in place to go for it, and plow the vast majority of cap and draft capital into the offense?

The author lists seven teams that might be interested in Mayfield; #2 was the New England Patriots.

There has been speculation that the Patriots will draft a quarterback with the third overall pick, but chances are they’ll be drafting the third QB off the board when they do. ... Would the Patriots want LSU’s Jayden Daniels if he’s the next best available option?​

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New England is in a serious rebuild mode now that Bill Belichick has departed. The last thing the Patriots probably want to do is to hit the reset button and slow the process down with another rookie quarterback who will need time to develop.​

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New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who interviewed for the same post in Tampa Bay this offseason, was Mayfield’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Cleveland for a few years. So that connection could help generate some interest from Mayfield in New England. The Patriots also have the second-most salary cap space in the league with $69,527,006 $86,857,390, so they could make a serious financial run at Mayfield and perhaps overpay to get him.​

Your thoughts?

Great post, and very informative. Me personally I feel like we should be exploring a short term veteran.. bakers is likely to get paid elsewhere. I'd like us to look at Cousins or Wilson for the bridge and or Brissett. The whole premise is to hope the quarterback we take in Daniel's hopefully is a week 1 starter. We all as posters can agree unless something changes that Mac and or zap won't be involved in the QB position this season. Again it all hinges upon the draft pick being ready week 1!

 

[jmt57]

Where is the 'Other' option?

I can add more options; what would you suggest? Keep in mind this poll is specifically in regards to the QB position.

So for example, if the Pats draft MHJ- what is the plan at QB?
- Give Mac Jones one more chance, with Zappe and a veteran as backups?
- Go with Zappe, and a veteran backup?
- Sign a bridge veteran for 2024, get your QB in 2025?
- Trade for Justin Fields (this would more or less fall under option 3 - sign a vet QB as the long term starter)

Some other option that I am overlooking?

 

[mike_usagisan]

Great post, and very informative. Me personally I feel like we should be exploring a short term veteran.. bakers is likely to get paid elsewhere. I'd like us to look at Cousins or Wilson for the bridge and or Brissett. The whole premise is to hope the quarterback we take in Daniel's hopefully is a week 1 starter. We all as posters can agree unless something changes that Mac and or zap won't be involved in the QB position this season. Again it all hinges upon the draft pick being ready week 1!

Wolf said specifically that the preference is that the rookie QB sits. Therefore the bridge QB needs to be someone who isn't going to stink up the place so much that the rookie has to start.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

You want to use the model of one team that’s successful over all the playoff teams that built around first round QB’s?

thanks for playing along! I'm saying be flexible. If you see the QB you like, absolutely grab them. Right away. If you're not sure, then take the roster-building SF approach.

 

[Grogan14]

It's kinda like the San Francisco approach. Put together an awesome roster, such that a pretty marginal QB like Brock Purdy gives you a shot at the super bowl. Although they deviated with that insane trade for Trey Lance. Imagine if they had those picks. Now, their roster is starting to thin out and get expensive .. they may have blown their window, but two SB appearances ain't all that bad.

Purdy is a damned good qb.probably top 7.
Ridiculously underrated

 

[XLIX]

Let’s get locked up into a long term relationship with an “average/good” QB at best, oh yeah… and pay too much to do it.

No thanks, I’d rather roll the dice in the draft until they get it right.

That's a philosophy that can sometimes take decades to resolve. I don't want to be the next Chicago Bears.

First, let's all take a breath. They are gonna get better. No more Belichick double secret probation eval scores of draftees. Second, let's not make Baker Mayfield out to be the second coming of Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. Mayfield is a journeyman. Back in the day, we'd call him a JAG and scoff at teams who wanted him. He is not all that and a bag of chips. But he's better than Mac Jones and probably not as good as whoever they take in R1. Give him a year or two and take McCarthy after trading back in R1, best available OT and WR in R2-3, all of a sudden, they are much better. Sign Pittman or Evans and you're in the mix in the east. It's not rocket science, and they aren't beholden to Bill's leadership and coachability scoring sheet.

I'd take Mayfield over McCarthy every single day and twice on Sunday.

 

[Grogan14]

Baker is a good qb but you will have to overpay to get him. He wants to re sign with Tampa Bay ( which makes a lot of sense for him)

 

[Real fan 02]

Wolf said specifically that the preference is that the rookie QB sits. Therefore the bridge QB needs to be someone who isn't going to stink up the place so much that the rookie has to start.

Very interesting, well I absolutely get Wolfes thinking.. however we don't have anyone at the position right now.. so if the QB is ready I'm sure Mayo's starting him.. same like stroud.. caserio wanted to sit him but he outshined Davis mills. Nonetheless we still need a bridge vet

 

[PWRxWLF]

I swear I might be the only one here who wants to see Zap as the bridge QB for a year while they draft a QB high-ish.

I’d have not problem with that but they’d still need to bring in a veteran to guide the rook along. Zap wouldn’t be that guy. He’s delusional and thinks he’s starter material.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I’d have not problem with that but they’d still need to bring in a veteran to guide the rook along. Zap wouldn’t be that guy. He’s delusional and thinks he’s starter material.

Depends on how soon you want the rookie to start. If you want it like Mac and Cam where the rookie beats out Zap in camp, sure, make Zap the bridge QB. If you want the rookie to sit for any length of time, we need a better bridge.

 

[MrTibbs]

Looks like Fields is going to Atlanta with sports illustrated reporting and NY Post with video of him allegedly celebrating the potential move. Thank goodness because I'm sick of the trade for Fields nonsense. All we need is for Mayfield to resign in Tampa now and no more lame "sign or trade for joe blow" hot takes.

 

[Jim Beankie]

I’d have not problem with that but they’d still need to bring in a veteran to guide the rook along. Zap wouldn’t be that guy. He’s delusional and thinks he’s starter material.

Who's on your list for that vet spot?

 

[kevan]

Who's on your list for that vet spot?

It's gonna end up being Jacoby Brissett

 

[upstater1]

The front office will be under pressure in 2 ways.

1. If they pick a QB, he better pan out.
2. If they don't pick a QB in the first 3, the guy available at 3 better NOT pan out.

If I'm Wolf, I go with option #1.

Both #1 and #2 may be fireable offenses if they backfire and if the team doesn't turn this thing around.

The worst thing that can happen, IMO, is for Daniels to turn into a Lamar Jackson with a better throwing arm for some other NFL team.

This is an enviable position to be in for the Patriots, but not for the GM. This is a very tough situation for him.

All this discussion about what's best for the Patriots in terms of picks and getting a young QB is almost irrelevant when you look at the stakes for the actual people making the decisions.

 

[mike_usagisan]

The front office will be under pressure in 2 ways.

1. If they pick a QB, he better pan out.
2. If they don't pick a QB in the first 3, the guy available at 3 better NOT pan out.

If I'm Wolf, I go with option #1.

Both #1 and #2 may be fireable offenses if they backfire and if the team doesn't turn this thing around.

The worst thing that can happen, IMO, is for Daniels to turn into a Lamar Jackson with a better throwing arm for some other NFL team.

This is an enviable position to be in for the Patriots, but not for the GM. This is a very tough situation for him.

All this discussion about what's best for the Patriots in terms of picks and getting a young QB is almost irrelevant when you look at the stakes for the actual people making the decisions.

I always got the impression that these guys have egos the size of planets and are positive when they make an evaluation that they’re right. That’s how SF goes up to get Trey Lance or the Giants take Daniel Jones. If Wolf and Co. think McCarthy is best, i think they’ll have no problem taking the risk of passing on Daniels.

 

[Real fan 02]

Who's on your list for that vet spot?

Wilson, Brissett is my choice. I've made mention just imagine if we got 24-8 from the QB position in 2023 we are a play-off team. That was Wilson's production last season.

 

[kevan]

Wilson, Brissett is my choice. I've made mention just imagine if we got 24-8 from the QB position in 2023 we are a play-off team. That was Wilson's production last season.

Wilson would be interesting. If pats could get him at 75% of his peak thats a coup
I just said Jacoby cuz of his NE past and by all accounts his teammates respect him and he can play, I think he's underrated. I was surprised the commanders were so quick to give Howell the reigns.