Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield Drops Major Off-Field News
There’s big off field news for Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar quarterback Baker Mayfield and his wife, Emily Mayfield, who announced they’re expecting baby No. 2 — a boy — in April 2026
“New addition coming April 2026, and we couldn’t feel luckier,” Emily Mayfield wrote on her official Instagram account on Tuesday, November 18, with a series of pictures of the family along with their daughter, Kova, who was born in April 2024.
“Great news: Baker and Emily Mayfield announce on Instagram they’re expecting their second child, a boy, this spring,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account.
Mayfields Started Growing Family in Florida
The Mayfields, who were married in 2019, didn’t start their family until coming to Tampa, where Baker Mayfield has been the starting quarterback since before the 2023 season.
Before last season, Emily Mayfield, posted a picture of their daughter, then 3 months old, next to Julius Wirfs, the 3-month-old son of NFL All-Proo Buccaneers left offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and his girlfriend, Meredith Sutton.
The two proud, smiling fathers and Pro Bowlers are standing behind strollers during a break from training camp on July 26.
“Our Buccaneers family,” the Buccaneers’ official Facebook page posted along with the picture.
It was the first baby for both couples.
The Buccaneers shared a picture of Wirfs and his newborn son on their official X account on April 3, 204 — less than one week before the Mayfield’s announced the birth of their daughter.
“Baby girl joined us Tuesday night just before 7:30pm,” Emily Mayfield wrote on Instagram on April 9. “She is truly everything we prayed for, and more. We’re enjoying life as a family of 4 — Fergus is so gentle & curious, Daddy is so smitten, and Mama wants to pause time & make these days last forever.”
The training camp photo of the babies wasn’t the first time they’d met up for a playdate alongside their famous dads. On April 15, the Buccaners’ official X account shared another adorable photo of Kova Jade and Julius together just weeks after they were born.
“Football chats look a little different this offseason,” the Bucs wrote on the post.
Mayfield’s Incredible Path to Starring for Bucs
Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, took the road less traveled to starring for the Buccaneers.
The Browns traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers for a fifth round pick after they traded for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and signed him to the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history — $240 million — before the 2022 season.
Waived by the Panthers before the end of the regular season, Mayfield signed with the Los Angeles Rams and showed enough in just a few appearances for the Buccaneers to sign him to a 1-year, $3 million contract in 2023 after Tom Brady’s second retirement.
In the last 2-plus seasons, Mayfield has reclaimed his spot among the NFL’s elite, leading the Buccaneers to consecutive NFC South Division titles and earning his first 2 Pro Bowl nods.
The Buccaneers signed Mayfield to a 3-year, $100 million contract before the 2024 season and could sign him to a contract extension after this season which could pay him somewhere between $50 million to $60 million per season.
Noise Around Jalen Hurts, Despite NFC’s Best Record, is Absurd and Unfounded
Jalen Hurts is being discussed right now as if he is the problem with the Philadelphia Eagles. That idea collapses the moment you apply a shred of context, logic, or memory. The Eagles are 8-2, tied for the best record in the conference, yet there are reports that are claiming the quarterback is ignoring the playbook, going off-script at times, and causing friction inside the building. This narrative is reckless, irresponsible and unsupported by the most important data available.
Just the Facts
The facts tell a different story. Hurts has a 22-3 record in his last 25 starts and finishes. He has 58 total touchdowns and just three interceptions with a quarterback rating of 110 over that span. He threw a perfect game against the Vikings a few weeks ago then followed that up with a 141.5 QB rating and a blowout win over the Giants three weeks ago.
He threw seven touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Vikings and Giants coming off a bad loss to New York prior to the Minnesota game and he’s won two moe games since, against two playoff teams from last year that won 25 games combined, Green Bay and Detroit respectively.
He also came within a fumble of winning two Super Bowl MVP trophies in the last three years.
This is not a quarterback who needs to be replaced, this is a quarterback who needs to be respected. But it is Philadelphia and around here you’re not happy unless you’re pissed off about something.
The Eagles might be the gold standard of most dysfunction, winning operation in the league and I wrote that last year before they even went on their Super Bowl run. But the ts chaos works for them because Hurts not only holds it together, but he also is a master of blocking it out. The idea of running him out of town is latest, greatest and loudest of the apparent Nova Care whispers and they are utterly ridiculous. The alleged discourse is incongruent with reality even before this week. Now it has drifted into full scale frenetic hysteria.
Blaming Hurts Alone for the Offensive Struggles is Misguided
The Eagles have scored twenty six total points over their last two games. They have plummeted from a top eight scoring offense to the middle of the league. Defenses have spent months studying their every move. The transition from Kellen Moore to Kevin Patullo at offensive coordinator has been uneven. The receivers have shown visible frustration. The offensive line is banged up which makes their rythm inconsistent.
Arguments exist for every one of those factors but the argument for blaming Hurts exclusively is weak. The truth is Hurts wasn’t great against the Packers and was bad against the Lions. He’s earned the right to be human. I’m not quite sure what the fan base expects of him. He was never Tom Brady or Patrick Mahommes. He’s never been that type of elite. But since he’s been an Eagle he’s been one of the best game-managers to ever live and his record reflects that. All quarterbacks are game-managers. That’s what they do. They manage games. Not sure where along the way that term gathered a negative connotation. My favorite though is when I hear that win-loss record isn’t a quarterback statistic. Right, because there are much more important things along a QBs stat line than wins and losses.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic, who’s just doing her job, is now reporting that people inside the organization are frustrated with Hurts this season and are questioning whether he is executing the offense the way Nick Sirianni and Patullo designed it.
Conversations erupted that Hurts might be freelancing, changing plays, or ignoring reads. The speculation gained momentum because the offense has lacked tempo and timing this season.
The city reacted instantly on sports talk radio and hey, why not? Mob-mentality overreaction is a right of passage in this town. It doesn’t matter if the story is accurate or not. If a know-nothing ham and egger talking head says something insanely ridiculous with 50,000 watts behind it, then go with it right? Everybody else does? Why waste time going through the logical progressions of a story to see if it holds weight when it’ss easier to just react emotionally?
The reality is far more nuanced.
Birds Insider Raises a Question, but Not a Verdict
On the Verizon Postgame Show after the 16-9 win over the Lions Sunday night, Eagles’ insider Derrick Gunn wondered this aloud:
“How much of what is practiced is actually being carried into the game in terms of the quarterback executing what they spent three or four days drilling”
These are valid questions, not conclusions. The offense looks choppy and out of sync. That does not automatically mean the quarterback is sabotaging the structure.
Seth Joyner Pushes the Hardest Narrative About the Quarterback
Former Birds’ Linebacker Seth Joyner said he spoke with a source inside the building and heard there is “consternation” around Hurts. He said there are plays practiced throughout the week that change in the game. He referenced the first Giants matchup, claiming Hurts threw an interception on a route he had not thrown in practice. Joyner said Devonta Smith confirmed that “1 and 11 made the change on their own.”
Joyner then said, “That is borderline insubordination.”
This is a powerful accusation, but it also requires perspective. Elite quarterbacks occasionally modify routes or adjust to leverage when they see an advantage.
Hurts has done it before in critical moments that resulted in game winning or sealing plays. He is not a reckless improviser. He is a controlled decision maker who has earned a measure of autonomy.
People pointing to one early throw to Jahan Dotson as damning evidence are blowing things way out of proportion. One early interception is not a career turning point. It is a single decision in a single game. Hurts has earned the right to trust what he sees. Oh, and by the way it’s his only interception of the season through 10 games.
The Entire Operation Appears Disjointed but Hurts Remains Steady
The Eagles are dysfunctional in a way that only a winning team can be. The offense sputters. The receivers get testy. The line is banged up. The play calling lacks consistency and imagination at times and yes, Hurts at times doesn’t release the ball quick enough or at all. The defense is carrying everything right now. The product is slow-developing, uneven, and maddening, yet the team is still elite as a unit at 8-2.
Hurts is the common denominator in that success. His voice, his presence, and his command stabilize a team that often looks like it is fighting itself. The calls to blame him or replace him ignore the basic truth of the sport. At the end of the day he makes enough big plays at big moments to win the close games that they’ve won this year.
Quarterbacks who are 22-3 in their last 25 starts with fifty eight touchdowns and three interceptions do not get replaced. They get supported. They get protected. They get trusted and at season’s end they get exhaulted.
Hurts delivered a perfect game a month ago and a 141.5 rating three weeks ago. He threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions in those eight days. His highs are not ancient history. They are recent evidence of who he is when the operation around him functions correctly.
The Eagles need adjustments, not upheaval. They need grinding, not panic. They need alignment, not finger pointing.
In the big picture Hurts is not the problem, he is the reason this chaotic, dysfunctional winning machine keeps winning.
