Here's why the Tampa Bay Bucs laughing all the way to the NFL playoffs | Whitley
Before we get to Ted Williams’ comeback, we must pay homage to the biggest revelation of the NFL season:
There is life after Tom Brady (unless you are Bill Belichick).
Remember all the snickering last summer when Tampa Bay signed Baker Mayfield? He was largely seen as a placeholder as the Bucs went 2-15 and got in position to draft a real quarterback.
The Bucs were the third-worst team in the NFL, according to ESPN’s preseason power rankings. But they beat Carolina on Sunday to clinch the NFC South. Yeah, that’s being the fastest hippopotamus, but it’s more than (cough, cough) Jacksonville can say.
While the Jaguars fell apart, the Bucs won five of their last six games. Of all Mayfield’s statistics, the most impressive one is $4 million.
That’s what the Bucs are paying him, which is at least $35 million less than the paychecks going to Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones, none of whom are in the playoffs.
Mayfield’s salary ranks him No. 37 among NFL quarterbacks. He’s even below Mitch Trubisky, whose next job will be working a Burger King drive-thru.
It was a marriage of inconvenience. The Bucs had $80 million in dead cap money and needed a cheap stopgap QB. Mayfield needed a landing spot to prove he wasn’t washed up at age 28.
It was the start of a beautiful relationship, though it might not last. Mayfield can go back on the free agent market, and the Bucs might not feel he’s worth Derek Carr money ($37.5 million?).
Whatever happens, the Bucs and Mayfield are both playing with house money for now. And even in these wildly inflationary days, you can say Mayfield was worth every penny. …
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Stud of the Week: Willis Gibson. The 13-year-old from Stillwater, OK., became the first player to beat Tetris, the Nintendo game that’s been around since 1985. The AP reported that Gibson “triggered a kill screen on Level 57.” I have no idea what that means, but apparently it’s the video game equivalent of being the first person to climb Mt. Everest while wearing only a Speedo.
Dud of the Week: The Jaguars, for finishing 1-5 to blow the AFC South. Doug Pederson denied reports that Urban Meyer secretly inhabited his body the past six weeks. …
Weather Dud: If Miami had beaten Buffalo Sunday, those teams would have met in the first round of the playoffs this Saturday in Miami. By losing 21-14, the Dolphins will instead play in Kansas City, where it is expected to be about 0 degrees at kickoff. But on the bright side, Taylor Swift may be there. …
Bronny Fever: Before the USC-Stanford game, the Pac-12 Network highlighted USC’s “Troy Trifecta.” The graphic showed the impressive scoring and assist averages for Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier. Under Bronny James, the accomplishments were “Winner,” and “Team Player.”
Why not just say, “LeBron’s Son,” and call it a day? …
As part of his $325-million contract with the Dodgers, the MLB Network reports that Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get a personal trainer, physical therapist, an interpreter and the team’s promise to provide “the best efforts to make Japanese food available.”
I recommend $5 sushi night at Publix every Wednesday. …
Mayfield Redux: The Bucs QB did earn a nice $1 million bonus Sunday by virtue of Tampa Bay making the playoffs. He’s still $2 million behind Taylor Heinicke, who isn’t even close to being the most famous Taylor in the NFL. …
Speaking of which, we bring you the Stare of the Week: The icy gaze Taylor Swift gave Golden Globes host Jo Koy after he joked, “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL - on the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.” If she does that Saturday night, it will plummet to minus-125 degrees on Miami’s sideline. …
The Dodgers also signed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez to a one-year $23.5 million contract, pushing their 2024 payroll to $237 million. That would rank fourth among NIL budgets in the SEC. …
With only 16 conference games left, The Pac-12 Network has named Bronny James the league’s Player of the Year. …
In other NFL bonus news, Geno Smith got $2 million for the Seahawks making the playoffs, Jadeveon Clowney got $1.75 million for getting nine sacks and CBS directors got $15 million for showing Taylor Swift cheering in a luxury box 500 times. …
Daniel Jones passed for 26 fewer TDs and 3,000 fewer yards than Baker Mayfield this season. But he did reach Level 28 in Tetris. …
Update: L.A. signed Ted Williams’ cryogenically frozen head to a one-year, $67 million deal. It did not demand the Dodgers provide the best available sushi. …
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. If you made it this far, you are a winner and a team player, even if you are not LeBron’s son.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Baker Mayfield gives Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last laugh
