Buccaneers' Tristan Wirfs offers praise for Baker Mayfield amid competition

It sounds like Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs has a favorite regarding the quarterback competition involving free-agency acquisition Baker Mayfield and 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask.

"I mean, I watched Baker play when he was in college," Wirfs told reporters on Monday, per the JoeBucsFan website. "Like, as soon as [he signed with the Bucs], everybody asked me, 'Oh, what do you think?' I was like, 'I’m really excited to be his teammate.' I think he’s a dog. I think he loves, you know, being a part of a team. I think he loves his teammates, and that’s what I’m really excited to experience." 

To compare, JoeBucsFan noted that "Wirfs didn’t mention Trask by name" and that the offensive lineman added that "having quarterbacks more mobile than Tom Brady should be a small positive" for the 2023 edition of the Buccaneers. 

Following Brady's "for good" retirement in February, the Buccaneers signed Mayfield to what is essentially a one-year "prove it" contract. Head coach Todd Bowles, general manager Jason Licht and team co-owner Joel Glazer have all suggested Mayfield will have to win the QB1 job over Trask, and Licht indicated last week he could add another arm to the club's quarterback room via the upcoming draft. 

Trask also spoke with media members on Monday and, according to JoeBucsFan, said that he's "been told it’s an open competition" versus Mayfield. Trask reportedly explained that "he believes the biggest issue he needs to work on is consistency," which is interesting considering he's attempted a total of nine career NFL regular-season passes. 

Mayfield, meanwhile, was the first choice of the 2018 draft and guided the Cleveland Browns to a playoff berth and a postseason victory during his four-season stint with that organization. The 28-year-old more recently flopped with the Carolina Panthers this past campaign and then failed to earn a long-term gig with the Los Angeles Rams.