Buccaneers consider interesting quarterback options to replace Tom Brady

Lock also impressed his 2022 quarterbacks coach.After hiring Dave Canales As offensive coordinator, Buccaneers view Lock as possible starting option, Jason Licht (Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com) said. Buccaneers’ ultimate solution as cheap Tom Brady successor – Baker Mayfield – Doesn’t cost more to sign than Lock.

While Mayfield showed signs of returning early in the season, he was only focused on The one-year contract is worth $4 million. Those were the terms Lock agreed to when he re-signed with Seattle, although Mayfield received more guaranteed money. Now, locking in only $1.75 million in guaranteed earnings is a moot point, as both vested veterans have $4 million in salary locked up. But it does speak to Mayfield’s value after a rough 2022 and the Buccaneers’ limitations after Brady’s ineffective bill year.

Brady’s three-year tenure in Tampa Bay ended as the Buccaneers tacked on void years to the legendary quarterback’s contract, resulting in $35.1 million in dead money. Brady’s retirement pushes the Buccaneers into the Saints’ salary cap range, which is more than $50 million higher than the 2023 salary cap in February.Although the Buccaneers opened up enough cap space through cuts and restructuring to re-sign Jamel Dean and Lavonte David, they’re not venturing into the deeper waters of the QB market.This rules out the real pursuit Derek Carr Jimmy Garoppolo, but Fowler added that the Buccaneers invested zero in free agency because they believed they couldn’t land a top quarterback prospect and that 2021 second-round draft pick Kay Kyle Trask The job cannot simply be handed to him.Jacoby Brissett and another Brian Gabbert This trade is working for the Buccaneers.

Lock, a 2019 second-round pick, has caught six passes as a Seahawks player. Smith, who is in his early 30s, returns to the field, relegating the 26-year-old Lock to QB2.Lock has been a backup since the Broncos trade

Teddy Bridgewater in 2021. A draw in 2020 cost Lock a chance to become a potential long-term starter in Denver, and when Lock needed to replace Bridgewater in December 2021, who suffered his second concussion, the Broncos’ fortunes plummeted.The Broncos lost their last three games with Lockwater injured and opted to include him in the blockbuster after Bridgewater was injured. Russell Wilson trade.

With Lock still being Smith’s backup, Mayfield will try to recover like Smith did. Although Mayfield had more promise early in his career than Smith and led the Browns to the playoffs for the first time in 18 seasons, he ranked last in QBR in 2022 and hasn’t finished well this offseason. Didn’t generate much interest from the starters.Ravens discuss trade with Mayfield Ace Lamar Jackson Backup, but the former No. 1 overall pick signed with the Buccaneers and beat Trask late in the preseason.

In four games with Canales’ offense, Mayfield has the sixth-highest quarterback completion rate, completing 69.6 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. The trade with the Panthers was billed as an opportunity for Mayfield to rebuild his value, but his stock fell further in Carolina. Fowler added that multiple former Panthers staffers viewed Mayfield’s arrival in July as a key reason for the predicament after Carolina and Cleveland haggled over terms of the deal for months.

That situation puts Mayfield into the Buccaneers’ price range. He will try to use this season to re-sign with the Buccaneers or strike a Smith or Garoppolo-style free agent deal in 2024.