Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers fans, please avert your eyes.
Baker Mayfield, the quarterback who went from the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft to the waiver wire within five seasons, has entered the MVP conversation.
The 30-year-old Heisman Trophy winner emerged as a frontrunner Sunday after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 30-19 win over the visiting San Francisco 49ers – a game that ended with home fans showering Mayfield with ‘MVP’ chants.
‘If I was this crowd, I’d be chanting “MVP” right now,’ ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said on the CBS broadcast.
‘Right now, he’s got to be the frontrunner for MVP in the league,’ retired Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan told his co-hosts on CBS after the game. ‘With all the guys that are out, with the way he’s playing, he’s absolutely outstanding.’
The absences Ryan referred to include receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka, the latter of whom hurt his hamstring in Sunday’s win, not to mention starting running back Bucky Irving.
Baker Mayfield, the quarterback who went from the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft to the waiver wire within five seasons, has entered the MVP conversation with his fifth win of 2025
Former Tampa Bay quarterback Chris Simms thinks Baker Mayfield is an MVP candidate
Despite this, Mayfield still completed 17 of 23 passes for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
And it wasn’t just Bucs fans and Ryan with the ‘MVP’ talk. NBC’s Chris Simms, an ex-Bucs quarterback himself, and former NFL backup Chase Daniel also described Mayfield as a strong MVP contender on Sunday.
‘Baker Mayfield is the unquestioned early season MVP candidate,’ Daniel wrote on X.
Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mayfield is in the MVP discussion, given his five comeback wins this season, four of which came down to the final minute of play. He’s among the league leaders in passing yards (1,283) and touchdown passes (10), while throwing just a single interception.
Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan described Mayfield as the MVP ‘frontrunner’
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) dives for a first down during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Raymond James Stadium
On the other hand, this is the same player who was famously discarded by the Browns to the Panthers after Cleveland’s doomed trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2022.
Then, with Carolina just 1-5 that season, Mayfield was granted his release.
He’d later sign with the Los Angeles Rams, filling a backup role, before replacing the retired Tom Brady in Tampa the following season.
Meanwhile, the 1-5 Browns and 3-3 Panthers have both struggled to find quarterbacks, although Bryce Young had a solid three-touchdown effort in Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys in Charlotte.
