Baker Mayfield has been better than Tom Brady for Buccaneers in one big way

For years, people associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have insisted that current starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was the perfect replacement for living legend Tom Brady following Brady's "for good" retirement in February 2023. 

It appears Mayfield has been somewhat of a better locker-room presence than Brady for the Buccaneers in one way. 

Baker Mayfield is more "relatable" than Tom Brady with the Buccaneers

For a lengthy piece that was published on Thursday, Zak Keefer of The Athletic spoke with Buccaneers people about all that Mayfield has offered the organization since the signal-caller first joined it in March 2023. 

"I would never throw shade on Tom because I like my ring too much," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said while referencing how Brady guided the club to a Super Bowl LV win in February 2021. "But Baker is just more … relatable."

Understandably, players who were with the Buccaneers during Brady's final years as an active player view Mayfield differently. Brady became a living legend as he earned six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots from 2000 through the 2019 season, and the Buccaneers signing him in March 2020 was a massive "win now" move.

Meanwhile, Mayfield was merely looking to save his career when he first joined the Bucs. He had previously been discarded by both the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers, and the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft then completed a cup-of-coffee stint with the Los Angeles Rams late in the 2022 season. 

"Tom really didn’t do anything with us, because he couldn’t. Like, he couldn’t even go to dinner," Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs explained. "Like, he couldn’t even go out to dinner. Then Baker comes in and the first day he asks me if I wanna grab a beer that night. I’m like, 'This is sick!'"

Baker Mayfield is a leader in his unique way

Mayfield led the Buccaneers to the playoffs during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but he has notched only one postseason victory with the club. Nevertheless, it's clear that he is quite a popular figure among his teammates heading into the 2026 campaign. 

"'Six' — as Mayfield is universally known — is one of them," Keefer added about how Mayfield is viewed in the locker room. "He takes on his offensive linemen in 'Mario Kart' and chugs beer with them at hockey games. He encourages anyone with nagging soreness to swing by his house and see his physiotherapist, then refuses to let them pay."

Mayfield is in the final year of the three-year deal he signed in March 2024, and there's no sign he will ink an extension anytime soon. It sounds like Wirfs and other Tampa Bay players think Licht should get a deal done with "Six" before the Buccaneers open the regular season with a matchup at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.