Baker Mayfield has been a revelation for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, but he will be a free agent this offseason, meaning the team may end up having to look elsewhere for a quarterback.
In a world where Mayfield ends up being too pricy for the Buccaneers or where Tampa Bay simply decides to move on for whatever reason, where would the club look?
Well, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler thinks the Bucs could ultimately consider Russell Wilson.
Wilson is still under contract with the Denver Broncos, but chances are, the Broncos will be getting the veteran. Denver benched Wilson with two games remaining in the regular season after he refused to defer his $37M injury guarantee, and that money becomes fully guaranteed on March 17.
So, if the Broncos release Wilson before that date, they will save some money, and the general consensus is that the two sides will be parting ways.
If and when that does happen, Wilson will have no shortage of potential suitors, but the Buccaneers could absolutely make sense if they end up having to replace Mayfield.
Wilson may have had a disastrous debut campaign in the Mile High City two years ago, but this season, he was actually good, throwing for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 66.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 98.
Obviously, the 34-year-old can still play, and if Tampa Bay re-signs wide receiver Mike Evans (Evans is slated to be a free agent this March), Wilson would have a very impressive group of receivers to throw to if he does, in fact, join the Bucs.
Of course, this is the furthest thing from the Buccaneers’ minds right now.
Tampa Bay is currently getting set to battle the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round of the playoffs after a dazzling performance by Baker Mayfield in a 32-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round.