Baker Mayfield loves to hold a grudge. He has that quality about him where he’ll find any little reason to feel like the opposition has wronged him. When he finds that reason, he takes it to heart and uses it to fuel him.
Remember when the Bucs beat the Jets last year and Mayfield said it was personal for him because New York defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was the one who cut him when he was in Carolina and Wilks was the Panthers’ interim head coach?
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Mayfield was said to be the one who requested his release, but he only did so after it was made clear that he would be designated as Carolina’s third-string quarterback and a healthy scratch. Who you blame for him being cut ultimately depends on your perspective, and whether the interim head coach was at fault for the way things went down can be disputed (Wilks actually disputed it himself).
But never mind the details. Mayfield found that extra bit of motivation from something he took to be a slight. It doesn’t matter what it was or whether he had any right to feel that it was a slight.
And that’s part of what makes the Bucs’ 2026 schedule so interesting. In a lot of ways, it sets up to be a Baker Mayfield revenge tour.
No Shortage Of Revenge Games On Deck For Baker Mayfield In 2026
The biggest revenge game on this 2026 revenge tour for Baker Mayfield comes in Week 2, which is the Bucs’ regular season home opener. The Browns visit Raymond James Stadium, and while Mayfield did play his former team as a member of the Panthers in 2022, this one could mean a little more.
After all, consider the background. Cleveland made Mayfield the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 Draft, and in 2020, he helped the Browns to their first playoff win since 1994. Not even two years later, they dumped him off to the side in favor of Deshaun Watson — who was facing 22 active civil lawsuits — in search of “an adult in the room,” as a team source said. That, unsurprisingly, was disputed by Browns leadership.
Former Browns QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today
Do you think Mayfield really cares if it was said or not? Hell no.
And while that reunion with the Browns in 2022 featured this storyline, consider that since then, Mayfield has established himself as a real franchise quarterback in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, outside of a season that Joe Flacco saved, Cleveland has still been without a reliable quarterback. What else is new?
So, fresh off three seasons with the Bucs that have seen him throw for 4,044, 4,500 and 3,693 yards and 28, 41 and 26 touchdowns, Mayfield will see the team that drafted him — and later sent him packing — in Week 2. Do you think he has that game circled?
It’s not just the Browns, either. Consider that new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski was Mayfield’s head coach in Cleveland at the time. We know the story there, as Mayfield very quickly took to social media to welcome Stefanski to the NFC South just after he was hired.
Failed is quite the reach pal. Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) January 20, 2026
Stefanski wasn’t interested in trading barbs and had complimentary words for the Tampa Bay quarterback. But again, do you think Baker Mayfield cares? Nope.
That’s part of Mayfield’s mentality. Do you think he’s still that extra bit fired up to play the Panthers even though there are only a couple of coaches remaining on staff and a completely new front office since his short-lived tenure there? You bet.
And because we’ve covered his history with the Falcons head coach and the Panthers, what about completing the divisional trifecta with the Saints? Do we even have to rehash his feelings about that team?
Saints DE Carl Granderon and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today
There’s also the fact that the Bucs play the entire AFC North, so that means meetings with not just the Browns but also the Bengals, Steelers and Ravens — all teams Mayfield used to see twice a year from 2018-2021.
Now, Mayfield has plenty to play for in 2026 as it is. More than anything, he wants to bounce back from the tale-of-two-halves type of season he and the team had in 2025 and lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl, reaching the mountaintop for the first time in his NFL career in the process.
He’s also playing on the final year of his contract as of right now, so he’ll be looking to prove his worth once again. Even if Tampa Bay inks him to a long-term deal before the season starts, that just means he’ll want to go out and prove he was worth the investment.
When you add this “revenge tour” context to all of that, you can be damn sure that Baker Mayfield will be locked in and ready to go in 2026.