Baker Mayfield earned a three-year contract extension with the Buccaneers after leading the team to the playoffs last year and that’s created a new kind of stability for the quarterback.
Mayfield looked set for a long run in Cleveland after being selected first overall in 2018 and guiding the Browns to a playoff win in 2020, but a down year in 2021 led to him being traded to Carolina. The Panthers dumped him during that season and he wound up with the Bucs after a brief stint with the Rams, so he had plenty to prove in his first year in Tampa.
Mayfield proved his mettle and he believes even better things are coming now that he’ll have a chance to build on a foundation for the first time in years.
“My NFL career, has it been what I want it to be? No, but it’s gotten me to this point to where I signed a long-term deal,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “When I settle in, good things happen. I know how I am, I know how I operate. When I can truly dig my feet in to make a difference in the culture and the people around me and make people better — that’s when I’m at my best. I haven’t been in a place for very long without coaching changes in a long time. I go back to Oklahoma for four years was the longest point and then to Cleveland — but we still had coaching changes in and out at pretty much every year. It’s just different. I have no doubt in my mind.”
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said earlier this week that he thinks Mayfield probably has “a bigger chip” on his shoulder after signing his deal. Mayfield’s comments don’t make it sound like he’s in quite so contentious a place, but they should still provide some optimism about what the future holds for the Bucs.
