The Minnesota Vikings are hoping for a better standard of quarterback play this season. But if Kyler Murray doesn’t pan out, they won’t be able to fall back on Baker Mayfield after he reportedly agreed to a three-year, $165 million extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Tuesday.
Mayfield was considered a potential option for the Vikings next season after contract talks with the Buccaneers fell through ahead of training camp.
While the 31-year-old seemed motivated to make Tampa Bay pay for letting those talks fall through, his new contract means it won’t get to that point and makes Minnesota's future at the quarterback position after this season even cloudier.
Baker Mayfield’s extension takes a potential 2027 QB option off the board for the Minnesota Vikings
Mayfield isn’t the perfect quarterback, but he’d at least be the baseline Kevin O’Connell has been looking for.
After settling in with the Buccaneers after his arrival in 2023, Mayfield has thrown for 12,237 yards, 95 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions over the last three seasons. He has also spent extensive time in Sean McVay-inspired systems such as the one the Vikings run in Minnesota.
After flaming out with the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers earlier in his career, Mayfield spent five games with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season and later worked with Liam Cohen, who was the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator in 2024 before leaving to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars last season.
If Vikings fans squinted hard enough, they could have seen Mayfield as their version of Matthew Stafford.
While Stafford had a more extensive resume before he was traded to Los Angeles before the 2021 season, he arrived in Los Angeles ahead of his age-33 season and has since won a Super Bowl (2021) and a Most Valuable Player Award (2025) while working in McVay’s offense.
Getting Mayfield to Minnesota would have required some financial gymnastics, especially since it was reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that he was looking for over $50 million per season when talks with the Buccaneers broke down last April.
But with Mayfield off the board, it leaves Minnesota's starting quarterback spot for next season wide open, even if the 2026 campaign hasn’t even started.
Minnesota Vikings future at QB is even murkier after Baker Mayfield’s extension
In a perfect world, the Vikings would already be relying on J.J. McCarthy as their quarterback of the future.
The 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, McCarthy flopped as a starter, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 starts last season. With several injuries throughout that performance, Minnesota made its contingency plan to sign Kyler Murray.
With that, the Vikings quarterback situation is settled for now, but Murray carries some risk. Coming off an underwhelming tenure with the Arizona Cardinals, the first overall pick of the 2019 draft is looking to rehabilitate his reputation, and it could lead to a strong year that helps Minnesota get back to the playoffs.
While that scenario could produce some exciting results, it also begs the question of what would happen at the end of the year.
A similar situation played out with Sam Darnold, who played at an MVP level for the Vikings over the first 16 games but cratered in the final two games, paving his path to signing a three-year, $100.5 million contract ($37.5 million guaranteed) with the Seattle Seahawks.
Watching Darnold win a Super Bowl in the first year of that contract could also give the Vikings hesitation about letting Murray walk. But if Murray didn’t live up to expectations or just had an average season, it would have been easy for the Vikings to pivot and see what Mayfield is up to.
Instead, the Vikings may have to open other doors. Turning back to McCarthy after a year of working behind the scenes feels like an option and could be likely if he fills in for Murray due to injury and plays well. But the relationship between McCarthy and O’Connell feels strained and could complicate those odds.
The Vikings could also take another swing in a 2027 draft that is loaded at quarterback. But Minnesota is unlikely to go that route after watching McCarthy crash out and not showing the patience required to develop a quarterback.
With that, the Vikings could go back to the retread bin. But Mayfield may have been the only viable option unless they want to revisit overpaying Mac Jones.
There’s also the possibility that the Cincinnati Bengals are so bad that Joe Burrow demands a trade. But even that could go out the window if the Bengals return to the playoffs and pick up a win or two when they get there.
Looking at the potential outcomes, Mayfield would have been a nice option to have. But with Tuesday’s news, it’s more likely that whatever ideas the Vikings had at quarterback going into next season may have to go back to the drawing board.
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