Years later, the two have buried the hatchet. Both have grown wiser through their experiences: Mayfield is now on his fourth NFL team in his career, while Bosa has both suffered a season-ending injury and returned to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Bosa said on Wednesday that he finally met Mayfield during the most recent offseason and encountered a pleasant individual.
“He’s nice,” Bosa said of Mayfield. … “I’ve never had anything against him. Just a joke as a rookie.”
Mayfield has been humbled by the merciless machine that is professional football in recent years, watching his once-promising tenure in Cleveland devolve into a trade request and departure to Carolina, where he struggled enough to be benched and eventually released during the 2022 season. He landed in Los Angeles, where he played quarterback for a listless Rams team before entering free agency in 2023 and joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Since then, Mayfield has returned to form, leading a pass-heavy Buccaneers offense that finally broke a month-long losing streak with a 20-6 win over Tennessee in Week 10. He ranks 16th in passing yards (2,143), 12th in passing touchdowns (14), and has kept the Buccaneers afloat while they continue to search for a reliable rushing attack. His statistics don’t suggest he’s in line to earn Comeback Player of the Year, but considering where he was in Carolina and Los Angeles a year ago, 2023 is proving to be a nice bounce-back campaign for the former No. 1 overall pick.
He is Tampa Bay’s greatest offensive threat, thanks in large part to his rapport with receiver Mike Evans. He’s playing some of his best football since his 2020 season, when he led the Browns to their first playoff victory in nearly 30 years. Bosa knows the 49ers can’t take him lightly in their Week 11 meeting.
“He’s definitely scrappy,” Bosa said on Wednesday. “He’s tougher than he looks in the pocket with escapability and his athleticism, and then he’s good at, whenever guys are open within the scheme, he hits them.”
It will be up to Bosa and another former Buckeye — the recently acquired Chase Young — to harass Mayfield in order to produce a seventh victory for San Francisco. Just don’t expect Bosa to pull out the imaginary flag again.