Baker Mayfield is starring in his second act, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the beneficiaries of what seems to be a revitalized quarterback,
He’s always had the confidence, but now the former No. 1 overall pick finally has a humility that is also serving him well.
His solid play has Tampa looking like the future NFC South champions and Mayfield looking like the next franchise quarterback for Tampa since Tom Brady.
Mayfield has the Buccaneers sitting at 3-1 through the first quarter of the season, and he has impeccable stats to back up the early success.
Baker Mayfield Is Performing At A High Level
Through four games, Mayfield has a 69.9 completion percentage, throwing for 882 yards, and seven touchdowns, against just two interceptions.
This hot streak that Mayfield is on has given him a newfound confidence in his play and his leadership, and it shows in how he addresses his team.
“Right now, the narrative is going to flip,” Mayfield told reporters after Sunday’s 26-9 victory over the New Orleans Saints. “We have to keep that [focused] mindset even more so. You can’t change whether people are patting you on the back or talking trash about you.”
While Mayfield is gaining control of this locker room, and earning the respect of his team and coaches, he’s also building strong relationships with his teammates.
Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht commended Mayfield for his efforts to get closer to his teammates and feels the hate the quarterback has received the past few years was unwarranted.
Licj said on Peter Schrager’s podcast “The Season,” “I don’t know where this started that he wasn’t a good guy. You can point to a lot of things that maybe people got the wrong impression of him. But he’s a freaking awesome dude,”
Licht continued by saying “Baker is a DUDE and the players saw it right away. He took the OL to the Bahamas during camp after final cuts to golf. He’s spotted around town at dive bars with receivers, with Mike Evans, with [Chris] Godwin. It’s not fake. He really knows how to be a dude with the team and they love him.”
Baker Mayfield seems to have found himself a new home in Tampa, after moving around to multiple teams. After leaving the Cleveland Browns, Baker found himself throwing passes for Carolina and the L.A. Rams.
But after the surprisingly great start Tampa got off to, the incredible numbers he’s putting up so far, the connection and bond that he’s building with the team, and the trust he’s earning from staff, either one of two things is going to happen with Mayfield.
Either Baker will become the new face of the Buccaneers, or he finds himself being one of the top quarterbacks in free agency at the end of the season.
Quite a redemption song either way.
