With Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales gone, quarterback Baker Mayfield could follow him.

Yes, NFL fans and media speculate that Mayfield could return to the Carolina Panthers with Canales, who will become the head coach there according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Thursday. Mayfield didn’t pan out in Carolina in 2020, but he had a career resurgence under Canales in Tampa for the 2023 season.

“It would be hilarious to see Baker return to Carolina,” sports satire podcaster Brandon Perna wrote on ‘X’, formerly Twitter on Thursday.

Carolina already has recent No. 1 pick and quarterback Bryce Young, who didn’t shine as a rookie. Young completed 59.8% of his passes for 2,877 yards for 11 touchdowns versus 10 touchdowns for a 2-15 football team.

Mayfield posted a 94.6 quarterback rating in 2023 as he completed 64.3% of his passes for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns amid a 9-8 record. He then led all quarterbacks in passing yards for the first two weeks of the playoffs when he led the Buccaneers to the NFC Divisional Round.

Dave Canales got career years out of both Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield, is Bryce Young next? pic.twitter.com/IfynWZ0j4k

— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 25, 2024

Tampa Bay will need to pay big money to keep Mayfield for 2024 after a one-year, $4 million contract for 2023. Spotrac projects Mayfield to command $27.1 million annually or a four-year, $108.51 million deal in free agency.

The Buccaneers have a projected $48.7 million in salary cap space, but the team has numerous key free agents to re-sign in addition to Mayfield. That includes Mike Evans, Lavonte David, and Antoine Winfield Jr. among others.

Carolina has a project $31 million in salary cap space to work with amid a myriad of needs. Mayfield’s 2022 stint in Carolina lasted six games as he completed 57.8% of his passes for 1,313 yards and six touchdowns versus six interceptions.

After the Panthers cut him, he impressed with the Los Angeles Rams where he completed 63.6% of his passes for 850 yards and four touchdowns versus two interceptions in five games.

Baker Mayfield Truly Unlikely to Join Dave Canales in Carolina
While Mayfield thrived under Canales, who has a track record of helping quarterbacks, a return to old stomping grounds is another matter.

“Mayfield, most likely, will not follow Canales to Carolina unless it pulls off an unforeseen trade of Bryce Young,” A to Z Sports’ Evan Winter wrote on Thursday. “Considering the resources the Panthers gave up and what they would get back after last year’s disaster, new general manager Dan Morgan probably won’t make that move.”

“There are contractual obligations that will keep Young in Charlotte, too. The Panthers can’t even trade him before June 1 without incurring a cap hit of nearly $10 million. When lumping in the fact Carolina has just $26,539,166 in effective cap space and very few contracts that can be modified/players that can be released in order to create sizable space – it seems even more unlikely the Panthers move Young.”

Bringing in a Veteran QB a Norm in the NFL
Carolina doesn’t have a high draft pick due to a trade with the Chicago Bears, and the Panthers have a clear need for a veteran quarterback. It has happened before as Winter noted.

“We’ve certainly seen teams bypass top draft picks in favor of established veterans, however, and one doesn’t have to go any further than the New York Jets and Zach Wilson/Aaron Rodgers,” Winter wrote. “It’s not very likely that Mayfield goes back to Carolina, but don’t completely rule it out, either.”

With that said, it makes the chain reaction of Evans following Mayfield and Canales to Carolina all the more unlikely as Winter noted.

“I don’t think Canales in Carolina is enough for Evans to go there, either,” Winter added. “The guy has made plenty of money over the course of his career and he has won so much over the back half of his time in Tampa Bay — why would he risk being on a bottom feeder, again?”