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Buccaneers' Edmonds addresses GM's comment about Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands the ball off to running back Chase Edmonds. David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Buccaneers' Chase Edmonds addresses GM's comment about Baker Mayfield

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/20/24

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Chase Edmonds recently spoke with Tyler Dunne of the Go Long website about a variety of topics, including how Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht went viral earlier this month when he said quarterback Baker Mayfield is "a 10 on the 'pr---' scale."

"We love 'Bake,' man," Edmonds explained. "Man, and I think the cool thing to see about Bake is Bake didn’t come in like that. Bake came into himself just trying to earn everybody’s respect and just work as hard as he could work every single day and be the best quarterback that he could be every single day. And I think that was really the cool thing to see the development of him getting back to Baker Mayfield and who you saw when he was [with the Cleveland Browns], when he was at Oklahoma — that charismatic, that p--------, that edge to him — I think that really started to inspire the team."

Licht has repeatedly praised Mayfield for embracing the challenge of replacing living legend Tom Brady and for the toughness the 28-year-old displayed across his first season with Tampa Bay.

During his chat with Dunne, Edmonds recalled how Mayfield responded to an alleged "dirty hit" that occurred during the club's Week 4 win at the New Orleans Saints.

"He threw the ball for a touchdown and then got high-lowed," Edmonds said. "He got bent backwards like a pretzel. And I’m watching on the TV screen and they show it slow and they don’t show him afterwards. ... Sure enough, he’s just fine. He gets his ankle taped up and he’s right back out there like nothing happened. He had a couple injuries with us, too. And to see him battle through it and not, like you said, not say s--- and really get that edge back was awesome to see."

Specifically, Mayfield entered the wild-card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles dealing with injured ribs and a sore ankle but nevertheless guided Tampa Bay to an impressive 32-9 victory on Jan. 15.

Both the Browns and Carolina Panthers gave up on Mayfield in 2022, but the Buccaneers rewarded him this offseason with a three-year contract that reportedly has a maximum value of $115M. Edmonds addressed how players react to teams paying their own like how Tampa Bay handled Mayfield, veteran wide receiver Mike Evans and others following the club's playoff run.

"...Guys take eye to that because, again, guys talk," Edmonds said. "People in the locker room talk. And the NFL world is a small world, so things get out when you’re not dealing with good people. And when you are dealing with good people, good folks, it tends that more people want to work for you."

Edmonds, Mayfield and others within the Buccaneers likely hope ahead of the upcoming draft that the club is just a few "more people" away from being among the best sides in the NFC come January.

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