In 2023, Baker Mayfield took over for Tom Brady as the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Brady had been with the team for three seasons. Of course, those three years were successful, but it sounds like they were not necessarily fun.
During a recent appearance on the Case de Klub podcast with Corey Kluber and Tyler Casagrande, Mayfield showed how many players really felt about Brady in the building.
“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out.”
“They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun,” he continued.
Of course, Mayfield likely wasn’t saying this as a personal attack on Brady, but rather how much he pushed all the other players around him.
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There’s certainly a specific expectation that Brady holds those around him, too, and keeping up with that is likely hard and strenuous because who wants to be the one to disappoint one of the greatest athletes of all time and seven-time Super Bowl champion?
Baker Mayfield May Have Found A Long-Term Home In Tampa Bay
When the Cleveland Browns officially moved on from Mayfield, his career took a pretty unexpected turn.
In 2022, he spent time with the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers but didn’t really solidify himself as a starter with either team.
It wasn’t until 2023, when he played for Tampa Bay, that he shined, passing for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with a playoff birth.
That performance was good enough for the Buccaneers to hold him down for the future, signing Mayfield to a three-year $100 million deal.
