In the wake of Tom Brady's retirement, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Baker Mayfield. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft was coming off a tough two-year stretch, having flamed out with his original team — the Cleveland Browns.
After being traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2022, Mayfield was unable to move the needle. The Panthers waived him mid-season, and he was claimed by the Los Angeles Rams, which Denver Broncos fans don't remember fondly.
Mayfield quarterbacked a Rams team that destroyed and embarrassed a Nathaniel Hackett-led Broncos squad on Christmas Day, serving as the final straw to the head coach's firing. Following the 2022 campaign, Mayfield became a free agent, signing a one-year deal with the Bucs, where he'd go on to earn the first Pro Bowl nod of his career.
Tampa paid Mayfield this past spring, inking him to a three-year, $100 million contract extension. The massive contract seems to have sparked the former Heisman Trophy winner, as he's led the Bucs to a 2-0 start on the heels of 474 passing yards and five touchdowns.
The Broncos will travel to take on Mayfield's Bucs this coming Sunday. Sean Payton and Vance Joseph will have to have an answer for Mayfield and his prolific receiving duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
On Thursday, Payton commented on Mayfield's NFL resurrection and how the fiery quarterback has defied the odds and the 'bust' label.
“It’s happened maybe three or four times with first-rounders and three or four times with second-rounders," Payton said. "I remember doing that study prior to signing Zach [Wilson]."
The Broncos were very keen on quarterback Wilson this past offseason. Having been dethroned in New York by Aaron Rodgers, the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft entered the offseason with 'bust' practically tattooed on his forehead.
However, Wilson has talent, and he defeated Payton's Broncos handily last season in Week 5. Before Payton could be sure he'd land Bo Nix in this year's draft, the Broncos acquired Wilson via trade from the New York Jets for a kicking of the tires, so to speak.
Wilson is far from orchestrating a career renaissance like Mayfield. For now, Wilson is Denver's QB3.
But Payton clearly respects Mayfield's game and his competitive drive, and the Bucs quarterback serves as an example of what's possible for fallen former top-5 draft picks.
"He’s tough and he’s competitive," Payton said of Mayfield. "He loves playing football. I’ve gotten to know him in the offseason on one trip just at a place that we ended up being at the same place. [He’s a] good person, he’s very competitive and he’s playing very well.”
The disgraced first-rounder finding new life elsewhere is an NFL trope, even if it's not a common occurance. Payton's fingerprints have actually been on multiple quarterback reclamation projects over the years.
Even Drew Brees, who wasn't technically a first-round pick in 2001 — though he would have been if he'd been drafted one year later when the league expanded to 32 teams — qualifies. Brees was the No. 32 overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, which happened to be the first pick in the second round back then. When the NFL expanded with the Houston Texans, Brees would have been the last pick in the first round, like Teddy Bridgewater and Lamar Jackson.
“When I was first coordinating at the Giants, we had [former Giants QB] Kerry Collins, who was a first-round pick and had kind of [been] reborn—or if you will, found new life in his career," Payton reflected. "History shows that it can happen. It happened with Brees actually. Obviously, it’s an important position. A lot of energy, effort and resources goes into drafting and acquiring quarterbacks. It’s something that’s important for your franchise.”
Hats off to the Bucs for hopping from a future Hall-of-Famer in Brady to an unlikely Pro Bowler in Mayfield without nary a hitch in their giddyup. Meanwhile, the Broncos have quarterback clarity, per se, but Nix is trudging through the rookie trial-and-error proving mire.
Nix has performed like the rookie he is, defying the hope that his age (24) and experience (61 college starts) would afford him a less turbulent first year than is traditional. In the wake of another 0-2 start, Payton is very much feeling the pressure to get Nix looking like the first-round pick that he is instead of the deer-in-the-headlights turnover machine he's been thus far.
Everywhere Payton's been in the NFL, his primary quarterback has succeeded. Even last year, Payton elevated Russell Wilson back to respectable heights, as he passed for 26 touchdowns and won the most games in Denver since Gary Kubiak was head coach.
So while the quarterback envy of seeing Mayfield thrive in Tampa may sting a little bit for Broncos Country this week, there's plenty of time for Payton to break through with Nix and hang another successful signal-caller skin on his wall. And if the Broncos got it wrong and Nix eventually flames out (which, it's way, way too early to even contemplate plausibly), Zach Wilson's former No. 2 overall juice is sitting on the shelf, still untapped.
However, Wilson's expiration date is January 2025, when his current contract with the Broncos runs out. That shelf life is worth monitoring more closely, only if Nix is unable to turn things around.
