Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield opens up about Rams tenure

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield suggested a short stint with the Los Angeles Rams last season could prove to be just what his NFL career needed. 

"I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Mayfield said during a recent media call about his time with the Rams, as shared by Belle Fraser of the New York Post. "It was the first time I had fun playing football in a few years. It brought that feeling of having that success and really remembering what it was all about. Kind of hit the reset button for me." 

The Cleveland Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022 and then traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers last July. Mayfield ultimately flopped with the Panthers and was released in early December, and it was subsequently learned the Rams were the only team to place a waiver claim for the first overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft. 

Mayfield appeared in five games and went 1-3 as a starter with the Rams. In total, he completed 82 of 129 passes (63.6%) for 850 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions across that stretch.

"To be around a coach like Sean McVay and a bunch of other guys… to be around those guys and to be in that offense and now looking forward to being in Tampa because it’s a very similar system with our new offensive coordinator [Dave Canales]," Mayfield explained. 

Mayfield signed a one-year "prove it" contract to join the Buccaneers early into this offseason and presumably leads 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask in a competition that could run through the end of training camp. The 28-year-old sounds settled and eager to make the Buccaneers more than just his latest pit stop. 

"Revitalized," Mayfield said about his mindset ahead of resuming the in-practice battle involving Trask later this summer. "I’m really excited and pumped up and just looking forward to the future."