Buccaneers' Lavonte David expands on how Baker Mayfield is different than Tom Brady

Numerous members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have noted over the past couple of years how quarterback Baker Mayfield has been an ideal replacement for Tom Brady following Brady's "for good" retirement in February 2023. 

During a recent appearance on ESPN's "The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny," Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David shared how Mayfield is different than Brady as a behind-the-scenes leader. 

"Tom was a leader who, you know, he would talk to you," David explained, per the JoeBucsFan website. "He’ll come to you, 'Hey, this and that and that.' Talk to you, more vocal type guy and get on you when you’re not doing something right, and stuff like that. But Baker is a lead-by-example type guy. That you don’t see much out of a quarterback. And, you know, when I saw that and the way he puts in work, the way he’s grinding out there at practice, his mentality. … I love it, though, man, just his grit, how he grinds and puts the team on his back type thing."

Brady was a 42-year-old six-time Super Bowl champion when he joined Tampa Bay as a free agent in March 2020. He later earned the seventh Super Bowl ring of his Hall of Fame career when he guided the Buccaneers to a championship in his first season with the organization, and he's widely viewed as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. 

Meanwhile, Mayfield was simply trying to resurrect his career when he signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the Buccaneers in March 2023. He ultimately played well enough to receive a three-year contract the following offseason that now looks like a bargain for his current employer considering the values of other quarterback deals. 

"He’s not going to talk," David added about Mayfield. "He’s not going to give you the speech; he’s just going to go out there and prove it. And that’s what I love to see out of him." 

Mayfield will now have to prove that he can post elite numbers while working with his third offensive coordinator (Josh Grizzard) in three years with Tampa Bay. According to Pro Football Reference, Mayfield ended the 2024 regular season ranked fourth in the league among qualified quarterbacks with a 106.8 passer rating, third with 4,500 passing yards and tied for second with 41 touchdowns through the air.