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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Was Better Last Season In One Key Passing Stat
Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Was Better Last Season In One Key Passing Stat originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has completely turned his career trajectory around since arriving in town ahead of the 2023 season. Advertisement Replacing legend and seven-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady is no easy proposition, but Mayfield's transition in Tampa Bay has been seamless. Posting two career seasons since being signed by general manager Jason Licht, Mayfield has helped the Bucs to a record-tying four straight NFC South titles and five playoff appearances in a row. But last season, we saw a part of Baker's game improve that might not have been anticipated. Pro Football Focus measured each quarterback's release rate last season, and Mayfield proved to have the third-most attempts in the league in releasing the ball in under 2.5 seconds. "Baker Mayfield's transition in Tampa Bay is a prime example, as his time to throw has decreased over the past two seasons compared to his previous three, resulting in increased production," Mason Cameron wrote. "This past season, Mayfield recorded 335 attempts in under 2.5 seconds — more than in any season he played outside of Tampa. He posted an 85.8% adjusted completion percentage and 29 touchdowns on such plays in 2024, both of which led the NFL." Advertisement Mayfield has been named to the Pro Bowl for the first and second times in his career since joining the Bucs. In 2023, he posted career highs in yards (4,044), touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (64.3). That earned him a three-year, $100 million deal from Licht and the team, and last season, he bested those career numbers by a lot with 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and a 71.4 completion percentage. Baker has built on the previous year each season with the Bucs, and that trend could continue in 2025. Related: Buccaneers' Pass Catcher Predicted 'League-Winning WR' in Fantasy Football Related: Analyst Names Buccaneers Third-Round Pick as Potential Cut Candidate This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
High-Priced Buccaneers Cornerback Could be Trade Bait Ahead of 2025
High-Priced Buccaneers Cornerback Could be Trade Bait Ahead of 2025 originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Just a day after we wrote about Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean possibly being a cut candidate for the team, he's being named in a suggested trade. Advertisement The reason for him being a potential cut candidate isn't because of declining skills, but two other reasons. He's entering Year 3 of a four-year, $52 million deal and carries a massive $15 million cap hit next year. The Bucs also invested heavily on two corners in Round 2 and Round 3 of the draft this season. It's because all of those factors that he could be either a cut candidate or, even better, on the trade block. CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin thinks the Las Vegas Raiders would be interested in acquiring Dean in a trade. 'Dean's six-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers includes a Super Bowl title and big-money extension, but the veteran has been frequently mentioned as a potential cut or trade candidate due to a $15 million 2025 cap hit, almost all of which the Bucs could clear from their books by dealing Dean elsewhere. Even if Dean is more serviceable than special at a lofty price,' Benjamin said. 'The Bucs are trying to defend their NFC South crown, and jettisoning such an experienced corner would put immediate pressure on rookie corners like Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish to have a playoff-caliber impact.' Advertisement Dean is also scheduled for a $15.7 million cap hit in 2026. That's a lot of money for a guy who might be relegated to a backup role at some point. It's a big decision for general manager Jason Licht, and could be dictated by the performance of some of this year's rookie class. Related: Analyst Names Buccaneers Third-Round Pick as Potential Cut Candidate Related: Buccaneers' Pass Catcher Predicted 'League-Winning WR' in Fantasy Football This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Buccaneers Just Miss Top 10 NFL Power Rankings Placement
Buccaneers Just Miss Top 10 NFL Power Rankings Placement originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been trending upward since Todd Bowles took over as head coach for Bruce Arians after the 2021 season. Advertisement Bowles was just rewarded with a three-year contract extension, along with general manager Jason Licht. Heading into 2025, the Bucs return all 11 starters on the offensive side of the ball, for a unit that ranked in the top five of most statistical categories last year. Defensively, the team will hopefully improve coming off a season where Bowles' unit struggled to get pressure on the quarterback and in pass coverage. Licht focused on the defense in both free agency and the draft, and hopes are high that Bowles can turn the defense around next season. Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut ranked all 32 teams this offseason and the Buccaneers just missed out on the top 10 at No. 11. Advertisement "Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have demonstrated they can overcome the loss of an offensive coordinator without skipping a beat offensively," Johnson wrote. We'll also highlight the fact that new play-caller Josh Grizzard was directly responsible for the best third-down offense (50.9 percent) in the NFL last year. Tampa Bay is also getting back Chris Godwin (ankle) and it added another potential No. 2 receiver in Emeka Egbuka to pair with Mike Evans. "Defensively, Tampa Bay even strengthened its pass rush with the Haason Reddick signing. We've seen enough in the last two seasons to believe the Buccaneers will remain a very good team." Related: Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Was Better Last Season In One Key Passing Stat Related: High-Priced Buccaneers Cornerback Could be Trade Bait Ahead of 2025 This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Why not all NFL players are hyped for Olympic flag football
And that's how it's been portrayed throughout much of the media since it was decided NFL players will take part in the 2028 Olympics in flag football. This is a great thing. Players are jacked. Let's go kick some flag football butt, America! But what if players aren't actually all that excited to be flag football Olympians? There was a recent extremely under-reported remark from Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase. He was asked about flag football and maybe spoke for more players than people want to acknowledge. "I don't know how I feel about it, if I'm being completely honest," Chase said, via WPCO's Marshall Kramsky. "I want to know the timing for us, offseason, in-season. I want to know if we're getting paid. I want to know where we traveling every other week or every day, like all that plays a part, because we have an offseason, we have a life. Also, how long would that be? I don't know. There's a lot of questions to it." Ja'Marr Chase has mixed feelings on if he would or wouldn't want to play in the Olympics. Chase has questions he wants answers to. Also Ja'Marr spoke about the respect he has for people who play and love flag football as opposed to the pro-NFL players. #Bengals @WCPO — Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) May 27, 2025 The key part of that quote: We have an offseason, we have a life. This doesn't mean that there are players who aren't excited about participating in the Olympics. There are and will be. It does mean there will be players who don't see the same level of excitement about it the league office and fans have. When Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked about Olympic flag football, he went all Roger Murtaugh from "Lethal Weapon:" "I'll probably leave that to the younger guys. I'll be a little older by the time that thing comes around." Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford just openly cracked up when asked about the Olympics. "You talking about coaching, or what?" he joked. Speaking of coaches, Denver's Sean Payton has been talked about as someone who could lead the team. On June 6 he asked about the possibility of coaching the flag team and he was, well, noncommittal. For now. "I don't want to answer questions in 2028 when I'm focused on Friday," Payton said, laughing. In part, what you're seeing, I believe, is that some players (and others) don't see flag football as a vital thing to do. Or at least not on the level of, say, Olympic basketball. The world had caught up to us in hoops (and even surpassed America) mandating the arrival of the Dream Team. Basketball was our game, not the world's, and we had to retake the sport from the clutches of others. Jalen Ramsey showing no mercy to Tyreek Hill at the Pro Bowl ???? ????: @NFL — NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) February 5, 2023 That's not the case with flag football. There's no nationwide call to beat everyone in flag football. There's also no need for people to dive into this now. It's three years away. You also hear in Chase's remarks the union and labor part of this. Players know the NFL will find a way to make tons of cash off of this, and Chase, understandably, wants to make sure players get their share. I respect him for that. Again, others will get into the flag football groove. There's no question about that. "I feel like it's always an honor to play for your country," Falcons running back Bijon Robinson told Cory Muse of KVUE. "Like, you always want to play for your country. I would love to show my skillset on that type of stage. "So, I think it's going to come down to our schedule and where it lies, and if the teams even let us go. But I would love to play if given the opportunity. We'll see. I don't want it to affect my team and what we've got going here." "Yeah, I think it's great," Rams coach Sean McVay recently told reporters. "I think that is so far away from me. Coaching years are dog years, you know that. You hear Justin Jefferson come out and talk about, 'Man, that would be really cool.' That's awesome. Like I think you give guys the opportunity to say, 'Alright, well what's your preference on it?' And I think whatever our guys going to be the availability for maybe one guy on each team to be able to do that. Matthew Stafford had a hilarious response about playing flag football in the 2028 Olympics ???? (via @RamsNFL) — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 29, 2025 "And if that's something that players say they want to be able to do, then I think it's a really cool experience for them to be able to be a part of while also acknowledging that man, there are some other guys that have been doing it. I'm not going to pretend to understand the nuances tactically and what that game entails, but I think it's good. I think it's great." There's definitely that sentiment out there. Still, there could be a lot more complexity to this flag football story than we know.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Justin Tucker suspension: Everyone loses as ex-Ravens kicker penalized
And, yeah, some rookie you've never heard of is going to benefit from the fact that Baltimore had already cut ties with Tucker, creating an open job to compete for in training camp. But there are no winners from this sad saga. There are most definitely losers, though, and they are as follows: Justin Tucker Duh. On the one hand, he ought to be grateful the NFL's announcement was, per usual, devoid of details regarding his violation of the league's personal conduct policy. And unlike the penalty the league levied against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson three years ago, in what can only be described as similar circumstances - at the time, 24 women had filed civil suits against him involving allegations of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions - Tucker has not been fined nor ordered to undergo treatment or an evaluation. Watson was and had to pay $5 million. But Tucker is radioactive. Last season was decidedly the worst of his 13-year career. Still the most accurate kicker in NFL history, he converted a career-low 73.3% of his field-goal attempts. It gave the Ravens a convenient excuse to cut a 35-year-old who was at the top of his positional compensation scale. And in light of the sexual misconduct allegations made by Baltimore-area massage therapists for incidents that reportedly occurred between 2012 and 2016, no team was likely to touch Tucker before the league completed its investigation into the matter - and there will undoubtedly be less consideration for him now given he won't be eligible to return until Nov. 11. But this runs deeper. Again, the NFL didn't offer details as to why it had suspended Tucker, though The Baltimore Banner reported them in spades. All the while, Tucker, a practicing Catholic, has denied them, characterizing the website's reporting as "unequivocally false" - yet also won't appeal his suspension. Take that for what it's worth. At this point, it seems unlikely Tucker plays in the NFL again. And what appears to be the final chapter of his once enviable career has probably delivered a fatal broadside to his Hall of Fame candidacy given the high bar his position already demanded. In a statement issued last month and attributed to executive vice president and GM Eric DeCosta, he said, "Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances," when explaining why the Ravens released Tucker with three years left on his four-year, $22 million extension. Anyone paying more than a scintilla of attention knew the move involved far more calculus than that, but that's how the Ravens chose to frame it. They missed the mark. This is the same organization that was spotlit by the Ray Rice situation in 2014, when the team's top running back was seen on video assaulting his fiancee in an elevator. He was eventually released and never played another NFL snap after being indefinitely suspended. Following the issuance of Watson's penalty in 2022, head coach John Harbaugh said of the Ravens' stance about player misconduct, "Basically, we're kind of zero tolerance. You have to know the truth, you have to try to understand the circumstances, but we've stayed away from that particular situation - when we draft players, when we sign them as free agents. "I'm glad that we have that policy." (For what it's worth, the Ravens just spent a second-round pick on linebacker Mike Green, who's been accused of sexual assault multiple times in the past.) More: Opinion: NFL's suspension of kicker Justin Tucker is essentially a guilty verdict Any profession has people who are less-than-savory characters. The NFL is no different, but its scandals make headlines that members of Fortune 500 companies (or far less notable ones) rarely draw. It's just baffling the Ravens - a well-run, first-rate organization by nearly every other measure, on or off the field - would further jeopardize their brand. They undoubtedly carefully parsed their announcement signaling Tucker's departure. DeCosta also thanked him for his "many contributions" to the franchise (meaning its win total). It's fine that the club took its time before cutting the cord while doing its own due diligence on the matter. But given the circumstances, "The Ravens have released Justin Tucker" always seemed to be about the extent of what he deserved. The victims In the event crystal clarity is needed here, victims are not "losers." But the NFL's verdict offers further credence that they've lost too much. According to The Banner's reporting, 16 massage therapists from eight local spas shared horror stories about Tucker's alleged misconduct. It's important to note he has not been charged with a crime, and the statute of limitations in Maryland to file a civil action against him is long past. Sadly, this is often how it goes whenever women are exploited. They won't see a penny in the aftermath of their trauma, which could be very difficult to escape for the balance of their lives. Nobody's lost more than them, and that can't be forgotten. All NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
