The question of who might be the right leader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Tom Brady’s retirement may have been answered according to franchise legend and Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks.

“I think Baker answered that question,” Brooks said about Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield on his show Brooks and Beckles. “He can be the next quarterback here for the next few years for the Bucs. Now, that obviously comes with a budget price on what that is.”

While the New England Patriots have failed to find a successor to Brady Tampa Bay did so in just one year, despite low expectations the team would compete, let alone make the postseason and win a playoff game.

Brooks knows how hard it is for NFL franchises to find quarterbacks that can lead a squad, and wants to see the franchise he carved out a Hall of Fame career with and the player himself make the right decision.

“I really hope that the Bucs go down this road of really pursuing him,” Brooks continued. “I really hope Baker understands the greater value is not just the economic piece in this case with him and figure out where he stands in that. Now, I say the ‘answer’ in terms of this: I think it’s a bridge. Do I think 10-year answer with Baker at quarterback? No. Do I think it’s 3 to 5? Yes.”

A lot of good can be done in three to five years, just ask Brady. So if Mayfield and the Buccaneers find the value in sticking together it could usher in a new age of consistent postseason appearances for the franchise that has never been able to string together successful tenures from quarterback to quarterback or even head coach to head coach.

Popular salary cap site Spotrac.com estimates Mayfield will earn $27.1 million on his next deal and Tampa Bay currently has $48.7 million in projected cap space for 2024.