Buccaneers' William Gholston compares Baker Mayfield to Tom Brady

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end William Gholston spoke during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio about how quarterback Baker Mayfield quickly became a favorite among teammates shortly after Mayfield signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the organization early last offseason. 

"For me, I can say that I like a guy who I know will knuckle up when it’s time to knuckle up, and he’s not going to shy away from that," Gholston said about Mayfield, according to the JoeBucsFan website. "So it’s easy to follow a guy like that." 

Gholston then was asked what it was like to have living legend Tom Brady as a teammate from 2020 through the 2022 season. 

"He was, man, somewhat in the same [as Mayfield], I would say," Gholston responded. "I would knuckle up with Brady, too." 

Mayfield and others inside the Tampa Bay locker room quickly embraced an "us against the world" mentality last summer as analysts and reporters throughout the NFL community predicted that the Buccaneers would finish this season near the basement of the overall league standings following Brady's retirement. 

The first pick of the 2018 draft then guided Tampa Bay to a division title and a home playoff win, and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin noted last month that Mayfield had the club "playing free" following Brady's departure. 

"He’s one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met," Gholston said about Mayfield. "Real down to earth. Real genuine guy. Super competitive. Like, I’ll walk through a dark alley with that guy."

Head coach Todd Bowles previously explained how the Buccaneers let "Baker be Baker," and the club has since hired Liam Coen as its new offensive coordinator seemingly with Mayfield in mind. 

Mayfield played under Coen with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season, and the 28-year-old admitted earlier in the week that the Buccaneers have "the upper hand" as it pertains to getting his signature on a contract before he reaches free agency in March. 

Of course, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht can always retain Mayfield's rights via the franchise tag worth roughly $35M for 2024. However, Mayfield has indicated he realizes inking a team-friendly deal before the March 5 deadline for clubs to use their tags could ultimately benefit him in the long run and beyond just a single payday.