All 32 NFL teams have reported to training camp. However, that doesn’t mean that all NFL players have reported. Oftentimes, players hold out of camp during contract talks as a way of using all the leverage at their disposal to get an extension they deem fair.
Other players take a different approach and report to camp in the hopes that approaching things professionally will make a franchise more inclined to work in good faith toward a new deal. Others still report, but refuse to continue negotiating. That’s the stance that Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Baker Mayfield, who is now set to become a free agent after this season, has taken.
On Thursday, Mayfield spoke to local media about the developing situation.
“I’ve been pretty upfront and honest about my feelings about Tampa. It being home for now, our family raising kids here. We love it here,” Mayfield said. “I wanted the deal done and set the deadline and told them it was gonna be all ball after that, and I did mean that. And I don’t know if they thought I was just gonna take some of the offers that they gave, but I’m at the point of my career and understanding what I’ve brought to this franchise.
“To feel disrespected a little bit, and that’s really the disappointing part.”
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield’s full statement on not having a new contract heading into training camp ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wIRBMuHVCj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 30, 2026
“I’m very, very thankful for the chance they gave me. Do not get me wrong on that. But I also know, I really know what I’ve brought to this franchise leadership-wise and even play-wise. It’s been some of the best years of my career, and I think it’s only going to trend upwards. Just being comfortable and feeling that.
“So disappointing in that regard to not have, you know, to feel disrespected a little bit. And that’s really the disappointing part, to feel undervalued. After, you know, thinking you’ve earned it.”
Mayfield went on to say that he’s standing firm on his decision to end negotiations.
“I said the deadline was a deadline and I addressed the team to let them know I meant that.”
Same old gimmick?
As mature as Mayfield’s approach to the situation is, many fans on social media weren’t hearing any of it from the veteran quarterback.
“Give me a break,” one Browns fan posted on X.
“I guess we can just ignore the part where he was one of the worst QBs in the league the final two months of the 25 season,” someone else added.
“The Baker Mayfield “chip on my shoulder” gimmick is starting just in time this year,” another fan wrote.
“Hate this bum,” one fan added.
Tampa Bay is taking quite the gamble letting its franchise quarterback enter free agency. If he has the kind of season he’s shown he’s capable of, he could even end up being the heir apparent to Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.