The pairing of Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appears to be a perfect one.
In Mayfield’s first season with the Bucs, the quarterback led Tampa Bay to a 9-8 record (winning the NFC South) and a playoff home win during Super Wild Card Weekend over the Philadelphia Eagles, also making his first Pro Bowl appearance.
This offseason, Mayfield committed to Tampa Bay by inking a three-year contract worth up to $115 million. Mayfield revealed recently that he wasn’t worried about getting a deal done due to his play from the 2023 season.
“For us, it was a matter of timing,” Mayfield said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “In the moment, yes, I wanted to get the deal done. But being on the business side of this thing a couple times and on the bad end of it, you want to make sure you get taken care of. So, for me, yeah, I was a little anxious. But I wasn’t worried.
“I knew that based on 2023, getting a fresh start in Tampa, I knew that I had put enough stuff on tape. I knew that I was a starter, but now I knew that other people viewed it the same way. I wasn’t worried, but I wanted it to be Tampa. I knew the culture and that was a place where I could be myself. Genuinely.”
His fresh start in Tampa Bay guided the 2018 No. 1 overall pick to his best campaign. He had career-highs in passing yards (4,044), touchdowns (28) and completion percentage (64.3).
Now, Mayfield can be himself heading into his second season in Tampa Bay. However, there’s a change in the club’s offensive coordinator, as Liam Coen was hired with former OC Dave Canales taking the head coaching job in Carolina.
The preseason finale against the Dolphins gave a first glimpse of how Mayfield could look in Coen’s scheme. Mayfield completed 3 of 3 passes for 54 yards and led the first-team offense to a touchdown drive. After the first drive, Mayfield's night and preseason was done.
With the season opener against the Washington Commanders on Sept. 8, Mayfield knows only results matter in the NFL.
“Honestly, winning is the most important thing for a quarterback,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how you get it done. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. However, you get that done, however you get that turned around from where we were at is the most important part.”