After Tom Brady retired — for real, this time — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers found themselves searching for another quarterback. Of course, they had Kyle Trask already on the roster, but they still went out and signed former Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield’s career took some interesting turns over the last couple years after the Browns selected him No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He requested a trade after they signed Deshaun Watson and eventually ended up with the Carolina Panthers. However, the team released him in December and he finished the year with the Los Angeles Rams.
Now, he’s with the Buccaneers on a one-year deal, and he’s already making an impression on his teammates. That includes wide receiver Chris Godwin.
“I like what I’ve seen so far, man,” Godwin said on The Rich Eisen Show. “He’s been a really good guy in our locker room so far, and that was the first thing that stood out to me was just the way he carries himself. He’s not like some arrogant guy that’s going to come in and be like, ‘Oh, I’m the guy and all you guys need to kind of like fall in line.'”
Mayfield is known for his chip-on-the-shoulder mentality and always having something to prove. He brings a high level of confidence, which Godwin noted. However, the way he acts in the locker room doesn’t necessarily match the public perception of the former Oklahoma star. As he gets to know his new teammates, Godwin said Mayfield is showing all signs of a strong leader.
“I feel like people have different perceptions that are portrayed, whether it’s in the media or just through other people,” Godwin said. “You just never really know. And I feel like sometimes, quarterbacks, they have like that not really an arrogance to them, but like a confidence to them where they walk in and they try to over-lead too soon. But it’s hard to get people to follow you as a leader if they don’t know who you are. If they don’t know how you work and they don’t know the type of work ethic that you have and they don’t know that we’re all in it together, then it’s hard to get people to follow you.
“So far, he’s come in and he’s just been one of the guys. And I think that allows him to be able to in times where he needs to be a leader, I think it allows him the space to be able to step in and be like, ‘This is what we need to do,’ because he’s already working on building those relationships with guys.”
Mayfield is currently preparing for his first training camp with the Buccaneers as he enters his sixth season in the NFL. Tampa Bay lifts the curtain on the 2023 season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 10.
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