Baker Mayfield is not giving up. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is still hoping to secure an extension after the season, as negotiations hit a dead end before training camp began. Mayfield left those talks disappointed, but found a big supporter in Buccaneers icon Gerald McCoy.

“Baker Reagan Mayfield, my brother. Some things were said today, and I know people are wondering,” Gerald McCoy said in a video he posted on X. “Baker said two things that I believe are wrong. He said, ‘I think I’m a franchise quarterback. I’ve been told I’m a franchise quarterback.’ No, Baker. Don’t say you think. Say you are. Say you believe.

“Don’t think. Let these people know the Bucks ain’t had no bunch of franchise quarterbacks. In fact, it’s hard to find a franchise quarterback in any franchise. Baker has earned it, right? He’s earned the right to be the guy he is. Baker Mayfield is a franchise quarterback, and he should be the Bucs’ long-term franchise quarterback.”

Mayfield’s 2024 season with the Bucs was his career-best. In the regular season, he recorded 4,500 passing yards and scored 41 touchdowns, while landing 71.4% of his passes. The quarterback has also maintained Tampa Bay’s newfound dominance in the NFC South, helping the team win consecutive division titles.

Mayfield is coming back this year after a poor season. And he is also 31. That doesn’t mean Mayfield doesn’t deserve a respectable extension. But it is understandable why the franchise didn’t offer him a good number.

CBS Sports’ Jared Dublin noted that Mayfield’s current contract is similar to what “bridge quarterbacks” are given, who are mostly in the $20 million to $30 million range. Mayfield was initially brought on for just one year, but after earning the Bucs’ trust, he was given a three-year, $100 million extension. It will keep him in Tampa Bay for only this year.

He’s made no secret that he wants a long-term deal north of $50 million a year, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the Bucs only put a two-year extension on the table, something Mayfield didn’t hide his disappointment over.

“I really know what I’ve brought to this franchise leadership-wise and even play-wise,” Mayfield said at training camp. “It’s been some of the best years of my career, and I think it’s only gonna trend upwards. Just being comfortable and feeling that, so, disappointing in that regard to not, you know, feel disrespected a little bit, and that’s really the disappointing part to feel undervalued after thinking you’ve earned it.”

Sure, the playoffs didn’t happen last year despite a promising start. But Mayfield has more than made his case as Tampa Bay’s franchise quarterback.