The contract extension with Baker Mayfield at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is taking its time. Now Head Coach Todd Bowles has spoken out.

Todd Bowles left no room for doubt. He wants to keep Mayfield as his quarterback for the long term. The statement wasn’t made in a vacuum: Mayfield had previously stated publicly that he and the Bucs were “still a long way from where we envisioned” in negotiations.

Mayfield is in the final year of his three-year, $100 million contract. The quarterback is applying pressure: He doesn’t want to hold any more talks once training camp begins.

His agent, Tom Mills, has set the end of July as the deadline. After that, the focus will be exclusively on playing football. If no deal is reached, however, the Bucs could still retain Mayfield after the season using the franchise tag.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Todd Bowles Remains Calm

The coach, on the other hand, appears relaxed. “Baker is completely focused on business. The contract issue will sort itself out. That’s the business side of things that you don’t see from the outside. I’m sure he’ll work it out. But it doesn’t affect his play,” said Bowles. “I don’t think he’s disappointed. He loves it here. We love him here.”

Mayfield himself didn’t let anything show during OTA practice—in 7-on-7 drills, he connected with receiver Chris Godwin on two consecutive touchdown passes, according to “ESPN.”

Mayfield finished the 2025 season with 3,693 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. In weeks 11 through 18, however, he ranked only 26th in passer rating. Since Mayfield became the starter in Tampa, the Bucs have a record of 27 wins and 24 losses.

GM Jason Licht also remained calm: “Nobody wants to see Baker anywhere else.” He said he wanted to keep details of the negotiations internal. He generally does not use the media as leverage.