With this proposal, Joe immediately thinks of a four-letter term. And it’s not quite “bold.”
Prior to delving into the discussion, let me state unequivocally that Joe greatly admires and appreciates the work of Aaron Schatz, the creator of Football Outsiders (may he rest in peace) and the man behind DVOA. Furthermore, Joe has directly told Schatz this on a few occasions, the most recent one being during Super Bowl Week in Las Vegas.
Schatz supports the AP football honors for a reason. He is an exceptionally skilled professional. Furthermore, Joe is rather grateful that a statistician isn’t a statistician’s slave. Joe believes that one of Schatz’s best qualities as an analyst is his open-mindedness.
But everybody hits a foul ball once in a while. Schatz also committed a foul ball, albeit a creative one, with a vicious line drive that struck the packed stadium.
According to Schatz, who types for BSPN, the Bucs should be “bold” and acquire Justin Fields instead of Baker Mayfield. God forbid!
Schatz, however, urged the Bucs to take a “bold” step in just that direction.
Exchange for QB Fields
It’s true that what’s good for one is often excellent for both, or more specifically, what’s good for the Falcons is good for the Buccaneers. Yes, Tampa Bay could afford to have Baker Mayfield return to the quarterback position. Mayfield had his greatest year since his rookie year in 2018 during the previous campaign. However, given Evans’ potential departure via free agency, how much do you think Mayfield can replicate that performance in 2024? And are the Bucs prepared to base their future plans behind Mayfield?
What if, instead, the Buccaneers selected the player who had the higher floor as well as the higher ceiling? As with Mayfield last season, trade for Fields and try to put him in a position where he can succeed. The future holds a ton of promise if you can discover the talent. After a few years with Mayfield, you were probably going to need to get a new quarterback if you couldn’t bring the skill to the table.
To put it clearly for Joe, the Bucs should bench the quarterback who led them there even though they were two plays from overtime and a timeout away from victory in a divisional match. Should the Bucs go acquire that same quarterback instead, given that a divisional opponent that missed the playoffs is selecting a runaround quarterback with appalling stats?
Successful teams copying non-playoff teams is a really strange thing.
It’s true that Fields may have more upside than Mayfield (albeit Mayfield has some very decent upside), but if Fields was so terrific, why would the Bears want to cut ties with him?
Yes, the Bears lack skill, but in what way are they not in this situation due to Fields? Do you not think so?
Is it better for Fields to pass to Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Rachaed White? You can bet he would. But better than the Bucs’ single-season performance with Mayfield last year? That is quite a stretch.
The Bucs, a four-time playoff team and three-time division winner designed to win now, should give away a quarterback who recently guided them to the brink of an NFC title game, even though Fields has never passed for 2,600 yards in a season.
Bad ball!
