Buccaneers' Todd Bowles has one request for QB Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is understandably impressed with Baker Mayfield but wants the quarterback to take fewer hits following the team's bye week. 

"Baker’s tough," Bowles said during a news conference, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "I say it up here all the time. You don’t want him taking too many of those, but he’s tough, he’s gritty, [and] he’s a very smart football player. He’s a competitor, he’s been like that his whole life, it hasn’t changed." 

Mayfield repeatedly hasn't shied away from contact beginning with the Week 1 20-17 win at the Minnesota Vikings and guided the Buccaneers to a 3-1 record heading into their break. According to ESPN stats, he ended Week 4 ranked seventh in the NFL among qualified players with a 68.9 adjusted QBR, eighth with a 101.5 passer rating and tied for seventh with seven passing touchdowns. 

Mayfield famously won a playoff start with the Cleveland Browns in January 2021 but then stubbornly played with what became a serious injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder throughout the subsequent season. The Browns acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022 and traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers in July of that year. 

Mayfield signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers in March and won the starting job over 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask in August. While it's still early days into Mayfield's tenure with the organization, it appears Bowles and company picked the right QB1. 

"He has a lot to prove, he’s having fun out there, he understands the offense, he’s using every piece of [weaponry] that we give him, and he’s having a good time," Bowles added about Mayfield. 

The Buccaneers next host the Detroit Lions on Oct. 15. 3-1 Detroit welcomes the 0-4 Carolina Panthers to Ford Field this coming Sunday afternoon.