TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles remembers when he met Baker Mayfield.
It came in 2018, when Bowles was the head coach of the New York Jets, who held the No. 3 overall pick of that draft. They were in search of a franchise quarterback, which brought Bowles to the University of Oklahoma to talk with Mayfield.
“We kind of hit it off mentally from that standpoint,” Bowles said of his newest quarterback last week during the league’s annual meetings.
He never got a chance to select Mayfield then, as the Cleveland Browns made him the No. 1 overall draft pick, but last month the Bucs were able to sign the quarterback who left a lasting impression on Bowles.
“You liked his moxie,” Bowles said. “You liked his leadership skills. You liked the way he could get out and throw on the run some.”
Bowles used the word “moxie” several times to describe Mayfield, as did general manager Jason Licht, which is important considering the leader they’re losing in retired quarterback Tom Brady.
Several players mentioned prior to Brady joining in 2020 that the team lacked belief when it came to closing out games and coming from behind to win, but Brady brought that sense of conviction. Mayfield doesn’t have the seven Super Bowl rings Brady does — nobody does — but he does have a certain level of bravado and self-assurance to inspire confidence in teammates.
“Guys naturally gravitate towards [Mayfield],” Bowles said. “He has an excitement he brings toward the game. And he’s hungry.”
He went from former Texas Tech and Oklahoma walk-on to Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 overall draft pick, and infamously said of going to the Browns, “If anybody’s gonna turn that franchise around, it’d be me.”
That’s what earned him the opportunity to compete with Kyle Trask for the starting quarterback position in Tampa and re-establish himself as a starting quarterback with a stable franchise that already has a winning culture. While the Bucs are undergoing a total roster overhaul — losing nearly half their starters on offense — their core has remained intact with Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, along with offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and center Ryan Jensen anchoring the offensive line.
“I think any time you look at some of the quarterbacks that have had a lot of success, you look at the stability they’ve had,” Mayfield said. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had that, but that’s not all on everybody else — I haven’t played the best I’m capable of. I’ve had flashes of that — I know that — so I’m just eager to have this next opportunity and see what it can become.”
Philosophically, the Bucs are trying to get away from relying so heavily on their quarterback in the post-Brady era, but rather having him play point guard and “be a disturber,” as new offensive coordinator Dave Canales put it.
“You don’t need to be the guy,” Bowles said. “You need to rely on the 10 guys around you. We’re not looking for a guy to come in there and be Superman. We have great players, you have Mike Evans, you have Chris Godwin, you have [running back] Rachaad [White], you have Tristan, you have Ryan Jensen, you have [tight end] Cade Otton. … You have guys that you can play with, and you have pieces, so you don’t have to be the guy. You just really need to drive the car.”
Of course, how much Mayfield will have to do will largely depend on the Bucs’ running situation, which statistically was the league’s worst in 2022.
They parted ways with Leonard Fournette to clear salary cap space and have since elevated second-year back Rachaad White into the starting role. They have also added Chase Edmonds.
But there’s a lack of clarity at both guard positions once again, and they now have a vacant offensive tackle spot to fill opposite Wirfs. They are also transitioning into a wide zone style run game, although that is something Mayfield had experience with in Cleveland.
In total, Mayfield went 29-30 in four seasons with the Browns. He struggled with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder in 2021, which led to him falling out of favor in Cleveland.
He was traded to the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 offseason, where he beat out Sam Darnold for the starting role, but Mayfield was eventually waived after seven games. In his time with Carolina, he dealt with a torn ligament in his left ankle and ranked last in Total QBR among qualified quarterbacks with a rating of 18.2, finishing with a 1-6 record.
The Los Angeles Rams claimed Mayfield off waivers Dec. 6, where he played the final five games of the season. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 850 yards with four touchdown passes and two interceptions.
The big knock on Mayfield in terms of his play would be the number of interceptions, which the Bucs dealt with for the five seasons with Jameis Winston prior to acquiring Brady. Mayfield threw 21 interceptions in 2019. But that stat doesn’t always tell the full story. From 2019 to 2021, the Browns had a 4.3% drop rate — fourth-most in the NFL.
Mayfield does have arm strength, which could be seen on his 57-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones in 2021. He also threw a 75-yard touchdown to Robbie Anderson this past year that traveled 45.8 air yards. His 42.4% completion percentage on throws of 20 or more air yards since 2019 is just below last-season’s MVP, Patrick Mahomes, at 43.2%, but at a slightly lower volume (210 attempts versus Mahomes’ 259). However, Mayfield has also thrown 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions on passes of 20 or more air yards.
His ability to be mobile with bootlegs and rollouts is also important. Canales’ system that he is bringing to Tampa from the Seattle Seahawks saw the quarterback throw from outside the pocket on 16.9% of pass attempts in 2022, sixth-most in the NFL. Some of that is a function of height, much in the way Russell Wilson and Drew Brees needed movement to account for limited pocket visibility.
“He gives us some competitive juice, you know, to go along with Trask,” Bowles said. “Baker’s won in college, he’s been to the playoffs as a pro and he brings us a lot of leadership. I think this style of offense is going to fit him very well, and I think it’ll be a good battle between him and Trask to see who’s gonna win.”