Following the retirement of Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into NFL free agency looking for a veteran quarterback who could challenge Kyle Trask for the starting job. Just a few months after landing in Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield is receiving some praise.
Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, has struggled over the past two seasons. Across 26 games with three teams, he holds a 6-16 record with a 27-21 TD-INT ratio and an 81.3 quarterback rating. Despite his struggles in recent years, the Buccaneers signed Mayfield in March.
- Baker Mayfield stats (career): 102-64 TD-INT, 86.5 QB rating, 61.4% completion rate
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It will be an open competition in training camp with Tampa Bay’s coaching staff equally excited to see both Mayfield and Trask on the practice field. There is no true early favorite for the starting job and both quarterbacks will likely see the field during the preseason and regular season.
However, Buccaneers’ general manager Jason Licht did offer some recent praise for his recently-signed quarterback with comments that bode well for Mayfield’s chances in 2023.
During an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Licht said the entire organization has been very impressed by Mayfield since the day he joined the team.
“Baker’s been fantastic here getting adjusted to his teammates and the culture here. Everybody, our staff, everbody downstairs has been really, really impressed with how he’s handled himself so far. And then Kyle [Trask] is just the Steady Eddie. He hasn’t changed. He works very hard. He’s very smart. Nothing seems to rattle Kyle. And that goes all the way back to his high school days waiting for his opportunity and then thriving when it comes up. So this is going to be a really, really, interesting competition all the way through [training] camp. Because it truly is going to be a competition. And I know that they’re both very excited to get this thing going.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM Jason Licht on Baker Mayfield (H/T JoeBucsFan.com)
- Baker Mayfield stats (2022): 79 QB rating, 10-8 TD-INT, 60% completion rate
Tampa Bay is certainly hoping that Mayfield plays more like the quarterback who impressed late in 2022 with the Los Angeles Rams. While he went 1-3 as the Rams’ starting quarterback, Mayfield posted an 86.4 quarterback rating with a 63.6 percent completion rate and a 4-2 TD-INT rate.
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Even with Mayfield and Trask on the roster, the Buccaneers reportedly remain in the quarterback market. If a veteran option becomes available via trade or one attracts their attention this summer in free agency, Tampa Bay could bring in another competitor for Mayfield and Trask.