Baker Mayfield names key reason he found success with Buccaneers

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler revealed on July 14 that NFL executives, coaches and scouts surveyed by the network ranked Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the league's 10th-best quarterback heading into the 2025 season. 

That's quite remarkable considering both the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers discarded Mayfield as recently as 2022. 

During a recent appearance on the "New Heights" podcast, hosted by retired NFL center Jason Kelce and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Mayfield discussed how he has found a long-term home with the Buccaneers. 

"This isn’t to (expletive) on the other teams and franchises, but when you step in and your (general manager) and your head coach say, 'Hey, just be you,' after I’ve been told at every stop and everywhere I go, 'You need to tone it down a little bit, you need to be a franchise quarterback.' It’s just not who I am," Mayfield explained, Sports Illustrated's Eva Geitheim shared.

Mayfield spent the bulk of the 2021 season playing through a serious injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Shortly after, a report claimed that one reason Browns owner Jimmy Haslam approved of the club acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022 is that he wanted "an adult" at the position. Later, Mayfield went 1-5 as a starter with the 2022 Panthers before he and Carolina parted ways in December of that year. 

Following a cup-of-coffee stint with the Los Angeles Rams to finish the 2022 season, Mayfield turned his career around with the Buccaneers. He received a three-year, $100M deal from Tampa Bay after guiding the club to a wild-card playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023, and is now coming off the best season of his career. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Mayfield ended the 2024 campaign tied for second in the NFL with 41 touchdown passes, third in the league with 4,500 passing yards and fourth with a 106.8 passer rating. 

Throughout his tenure in Tampa Bay, Buccaneers personnel have mentioned that Mayfield was the perfect person to replace Tom Brady after the future Hall of Famer retired in February 2023. Mayfield appreciates that the Buccaneers have let him be himself over the past two years. 

"I wear my emotions on my sleeves. ... I’m gonna talk (expletive), I’m going to do whatever, but when it’s time to turn the lights on and go do something, I’m going to do it," Mayfield added during the interview. "So when I stepped into the (Buccaneers') building, they all told me to just be myself. It's been, not to say comfortable, but it's felt like home since the beginning. As a quarterback that's been through a little bit of a journey, you can't ask for anything else."

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers tied for seventh among the betting favorites at +1300 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX. Mayfield and Co. will look to open the season with a win when Tampa Bay faces the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 7.