CBS Sports suggests Bucs land former starter as backup for Baker Mayfield
CBS Sports suggests Bucs land former starter as backup for Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield is the bona fide starter for the Bucs, make no mistake about it.
The veteran quarterback is coming off a career year where he set new highs in several key statistical categories, and they kept the continuity going in the quarterback room when they re-signed Kyle Trask to a one-year deal this offseason. But could they look to shake things up despite the return of the former Florida Gator and Heisman Trophy finalist?
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports wrote about some Post-June 1 trade candidates, one of which was Titans former starter Will Levis.
The former Kentucky Wildcat finds himself on the outside looking in after the team drafted Cam Ward with the first overall pick in April's NFL Draft. Benjamin projects a trade to the Bucs and cites the cap savings for the Titans as the main reason.
"The Tennessee Titans aren't rushing to move on from the former second-round pick, at least publicly, but ever since the club's new regime spent this year's No. 1 overall pick on Cam Ward, the writing has been on the wall. Could coach Brian Callahan retain the big-armed youngster as Ward's backup? Perhaps. But the Titans could save $1.6 million by trading Levis after June 1, whereas a trade or release prior to June 1 would've only saved the franchise about $600,000."
Getting a more proven backup with starting experience isn't the worst idea for someone with Baker Mayfield's play style.
Josh Grizzard has spoken about Mayfield protecting himself better in 2025, but in the event that accidents happen, since it is the NFL, having someone like Levis doesn't hurt. Not to mention, his play style also matches up well with that of the Bucs.
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New York Times
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Those four states continue to be the biggest producers of NFL players, with Georgia (20) taking a small lead over Texas (19) for first-round selections. Here's a look at the top 10 NFL talent producers over the last five years by state, including how many of those total selections were blue-chip recruits. One outside factor you have to consider when looking at all data is how the COVID-19 pandemic affected recruiting and draft results. The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all players who participated in the 2020 season. That certainly didn't stop the best players in college football from making a quick exit for the draft if they could. Nearly one in five draft picks over the last five years still made the jump to the pros after only three seasons in school. Here's a look at where players were drafted by the amount of time they spent in college. Playing for a Power 4 program — there are currently 69 — still gives a player the best odds of getting drafted. Just under 84 percent of the NFL Draft picks over the last five years played their last college game for a school that was in a Power 4 league (or Notre Dame) at the time. The transfer portal has affected those numbers, with many of the Power 4 players drafted having started their careers at a lower level. In all, nearly a quarter of the players drafted over the last five years (26.4 percent) signed with a junior college, FCS, Division II or Group of 5 program out of high school. Advertisement The reality, however, is that three-fourths of the players taken in the draft over the last five years played for only one college program. That number, however, is decreasing as the number of transfers increases every year. Of the 257 players selected in this year's draft, 96 transferred at least once. That's 37 percent. In 2021, only 10 percent of the draft picks (27 of the 259) were transfers. 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What's far more impressive from a development standpoint are the Power 4 programs that ranked outside of the top 40 in recruiting rankings yet produced NFL talent at a top-40 level. The Pitt Panthers top the list among those schools with 20 draft picks over the last five years, including two first-rounders — second most in the ACC behind Clemson (22). Of those 20 picks, only three were transfers, and among the 17 homegrown talents, only one was a blue-chip recruit coming out of high school (safety Damar Hamlin). Advertisement Before he left for Wisconsin in November 2022, Luke Fickel did an equally impressive job stocking the shelves with NFL talent at Cincinnati — and did so before the program joined a Power 4 conference. The Bearcats have had 18 players drafted over the last five years. Four were transfers, including the only three blue-chippers to get drafted from Cincinnati. The rest were rated three-stars or lower, including top-five pick Sauce Gardner, who was the No. 1,605 prospect in the 2019 cycle. Kansas State, Iowa State, Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota all ranked in the top 40 of NFL talent producers with 13 picks each despite ranking outside of the top 50 in the recruiting rankings. These are the top non-Power 4 talent producers over the last five years. (Oregon State and Washington State are not on this list since they were both P4 programs during the recruiting cycles. Neither are BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF since they are now in a P4 league.) Schools love to claim they're the best at producing talent by position. We've gone ahead and done the homework to end the argument, at least for recent history. Quarterback: Alabama, Florida and Ohio State all have the right to call themselves the best at producing pro talent at the moment, with three draft picks each at the position over the last five years. We'd give the slight edge to the Buckeyes, considering Fields and C.J. Stroud were first-rounders and Stroud is an entrenched NFL starter. Running back: Michigan and Texas lead the way with five draft picks each over the last five years, with Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina not far behind with four each. You could make the argument that Pro Bowler Bijan Robinson gives Texas the edge with how he's performed early in his pro career. Receiver: Ohio State has produced five first-round picks at the position over the last five years, including top-10 picks in Marvin Harrison and Garrett Wilson. And Jeremiah Smith could be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft. But don't forget about LSU. The Tigers have had six receivers taken in the last five years and have stars Ja'Marr Chase, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. doing damage in the league now. 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Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State are next with nine picks each, with the Wolverines boasting five first-rounders — most notably Aidan Hutchinson. Linebackers: Only nine players classified as linebackers have been taken in the first round in the last five years, and Penn State's Micah Parsons is one of them. Georgia's Quay Walker is another and is among the six from the Bulldogs. Clemson, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Washington and Penn State are next, each with four linebackers drafted. Defensive backs: Why has Georgia been so good? Probably because it keeps producing the most NFL talent at every defensive position. The Bulldogs have had 13 defensive backs picked, including three first-rounders in Lewis Cline, Malaki Starks and Eric Stokes. Alabama is next with nine, followed by Penn State with eight. Recruiting sites do a fine job of highlighting the coaches who sign the most high-end prospects, but how much does this really tell us? 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Kentucky tight ends coach Vince Marrow: The longtime assistant has been the lead recruiter for five Kentucky players who have been drafted in the last five years. Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters: In his time at Missouri, Walters was the lead recruiter for six players who were eventually drafted. All of them were three-star recruits, and four ranked in the 1,000s. West Virginia special teams coach Chris Haering: The former longtime Wisconsin assistant recruited six Badgers who were drafted, including Super Bowl-winning linebacker Leo Chenal. (Photo of Bo Nix: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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