Bucs Fortunate To Have QB Succession Plan Actually Work

Throughout their history, the Bucs have never been a franchise known for good quarterback play. In fact, their history at the quarterback position is largely dreadful and it’ll take several more good quarterback tenures to come anywhere close to changing that.

But the last four years have been different for Tampa Bay when it comes to the most important position on the field. Obviously, signing Tom Brady when he hit free agency was a no-brainer move. He’s the greatest quarterback of all time, and bringing him to town paid immediate dividends when the Bucs went on to win Super Bowl LV in his first season with the team.

Over Brady’s three seasons in red, white and pewter, Tampa Bay went 32-18, won a Super Bowl, earned two NFC South titles and put together its first three-year postseason streak since 1999-2002, which was a four-year streak.

What happened next was ultimately the difficult part, and that was finding a successor. When Brady retired in 2023, the Bucs wound up signing Baker Mayfield to a one-year prove-it deal. Mayfield was set to compete with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask, though the general consensus nationally was that the Bucs would experience a major drop-off without Brady and would sink down to the lower levels of the league no matter who won the job.

Considering Mayfield had a career year with 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions while leading the Bucs to an NFC South title and the NFC Divisional Round, that consensus was dead wrong. And by helping Tampa Bay complete its first-ever division title three-peat and second-ever four-year postseason streak, Mayfield earned himself a new three-year, $100 million contract this offseason.

For a franchise that has a history full of a bad quarterback play, going from the greatest quarterback of all time to a signal-caller who not only kept them afloat and in the playoffs but has a chance to do that for as many as three more years? That’s quite the win as far as succession plans go.

Really, the fact that it’s worked out so well for the Bucs is truly a rarity when you consider a number of other situations around the league.

Other QB Succession Plans Haven’t Gone As Well As The Bucs’

Packers QB Jordan Love – Photo by: USA Today

When it comes to quarterback succession plans, there isn’t a single franchise who has had it better than the Packers. They went from Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre to future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.

Then, just for good measure, they turned the reins over from Rodgers to Jordan Love, a first-round pick, last year, and Love looks primed to continue that insane run of elite-level quarterback play in Green Bay. The Packers are the gold standard of quarterback succession plans.

The Chiefs did well for themselves, too, going from a good quarterback in Alex Smith to the best quarterback in the league and a future Hall of Famer in Patrick Mahomes. The Lions have had their situation work out as well, with Jared Goff taking them to the NFC Championship Game in 2023 after coming over via trade (a trade that saw their former quarterback, Matthew Stafford, go to Los Angeles).

So, there have been some success stories in recent years, but it’s safe to say there have been far more situations that either haven’t worked out, are still unresolved or have potentially been solved at an exorbitant cost.

The Steelers have struggled to properly replace Ben Roethlisberger. The Colts haven’t fully recovered from Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement, at least in terms of the quarterback position. The Giants haven’t replaced Eli Manning, the Broncos haven’t succeeded in finding a viable quarterback after Peyton Manning and the Patriots are still searching for a post-Tom Brady answer at the position four years later.

Not every team manages to skip an adjustment period once their all-time great quarterback retires or departs. But the Bucs found a way, and there’s no overstating how fortunate they were.

Bucs Have Seen Divisional Foes Pay Top Dollar To Find Succession Plans

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Of course, you don’t even have to look beyond the Bucs’ own division to find out how difficult some other teams have found it to replace their former star quarterbacks. And while the Falcons, Saints and Panthers all presumably have their answers now, they paid handsomely for them and are still waiting to see it pay off — or if it’ll pay off.

There’s also guarantee that the top dollar they paid will be pay off. At the very least, Atlanta, New Orleans and Carolina would want to see some progress in the form of a playoff appearance. They’ve all taken years to find an answer and haven’t seen the playoffs since losing Matt Ryan, Drew Brees and Cam Newton, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Bucs went from Brady to Baker Mayfield, who played on a one-year deal last year that only equaled out to about $7 million with incentives, and maintained their playoff and division title streak. Even with the deal Tampa Bay rewarded Mayfield with this offseason, the team is still paying less than their division counterparts are for their quarterbacks (save for Bryce Young, a rookie, in Carolina). And even at a lesser cost, Mayfield can arguably be expected to give the Bucs more than the higher-paid signal-callers in the South.

The Falcons were stable from 2008-2021 with Matt Ryan under center. They made the playoffs six times during that span, won three NFC South titles and made a Super Bowl appearance. They missed the playoffs in their last four years with Ryan, and then when they moved on from him, the combination of Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder certainly wasn’t the answer in 2022. After that, Ridder and Taylor Heinicke both failed to get the job done in 2023.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield, Jr. and QB Kirk Cousins – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, this offseason, the Falcons went out and paid big money for a potential answer. They finally look to have their Matt Ryan replacement three years later, handing Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million contract.

Some already view Atlanta as the favorite to unseat Tampa Bay atop the division this year, but there’s no denying there’s plenty of risk involved. Cousins will turn 36 before the season begins and is coming off a torn Achilles. And for all the success he had in Minnesota, he has just one playoff victory to show for it.

As for the Saints, they had it really good with future Hall of Famer Drew Brees from 2006-2020. That stretch included nine playoff appearances, seven NFC South titles and a Super Bowl. But since his retirement after the 2020 season, New Orleans has failed to make the playoffs and is still hoping it has his replacement rather than knowing for sure.

Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian and Ian Book all saw time in 2021. Andy Dalton and Winston then split time in 2022. From there, the Saints went out and spent significant money (like the Falcons did this season) on Derek Carr.

The former Raiders quarterback got a four-year, $150 million deal ahead of his age-32 season. Like Cousins, he had success with his previous team but has just one playoff game to his name — and it was a loss. New Orleans is always tough, but one year on from that addition, it’s not looking like one that will prove overly rewarding. The Saints will probably be the third-favorite to win the division this year.

Bucs DT Calijah Kancey and Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As for the Panthers, they haven’t had the right quarterback since the initial Cam Newton era ended. From 2011-2019, they made the playoffs four times, with three division titles. Carolina also made a Super Bowl appearance with Newton after a 15-1 2015 season, though the bid for their first Lombardi Trophy ultimately fell short.

The Panthers tried to move on from Newton in 2020, but neither Teddy Bridgewater nor P.J. Walker proved to be the answer. In 2021, Sam Darnold failed to catch on early and then Carolina went for a November reunion with Newton. That didn’t work out, and in 2022, Darnold, Walker and Baker Mayfield pieced together another postseason-less season.

Carolina is still holding out hope for its No. 1 overall pick in 2023, Bryce Young, to be the successor at quarterback. The team coughed up a lot to get him, of course, but in a different way than Atlanta and New Orleans did with their veteran quarterbacks. Rather, the Panthers traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks and star receiver DJ Moore to get the No. 1 pick that they used on Young.

Former Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales has been charged with getting the most out of Young, and it’ll be a few years at best before that pays off — if it does at all.

There’s something to say about the Bucs’ culture and roster around their quarterback being so strong, as solving the quarterback position doesn’t automatically mean success. But for the Bucs to find a post-Brady answer in its first year of looking, to stay atop the division and then lock that answer up for another three years at a manageable cost? That’s a job well done by general manager Jason Licht and his staff in the front office.