Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said he took a little extra pleasure in last Sunday’s win over the Jets because “their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina” during the 2022 season.
Steve Wilks is the defensive coordinator that Mayfield was referring to and he got a chance to respond during a press conference on Friday. Wilks became the interim head coach for the Panthers when they fired Matt Ruhle on October and he referenced another transaction the team made 10 days later when explaining that he wasn’t in charge of the roster while in the interim role.
“I don’t think an interim coach has much say over personnel,” Wilks said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have gotten rid of our best player, Christian McCaffrey.”
Mayfield was injured the day before Ruhle was fired and he appeared in two games under Wilks before asking for and receiving his release because the team was going with P.J. Walker at quarterback. That and Wilks’ level of control add some context to the story, but the period obviously added to the chip on Mayfield’s shoulder and he’s put it to good use since getting to Tampa.
