Many Tampa Bay Buccaneers supporters may have hoped that their team would be able to select one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft after Tom Brady retired this offseason.
Instead, they went out and signed Baker Mayfield in free agency.
Bruce Arians, who helped lead the Bucs to a Super Bowl in Brady’s first season with the team back in 2020, is now dropping a hot take to end all hot takes after he claimed he had Mayfield “rated higher” than any of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
“I can honestly say out of these four, I had Baker rated higher,” Arians told Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report on Monday at the Arians Family Foundation gala. “That’s an honest opinion – coming out [of Oklahoma].”
Those four also include Houston’s C.J. Stroud, Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson, and, of course, the No. 1 pick in Carolina’s Bryce Young.
Mayfield was a first overall selection to the Cleveland Browns in 2018. And although things haven’t exactly worked out as planned for Baker in the NFL, Arians may think his best ball is ahead of him.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“That’s not chopped liver,” he added. “He had a tough time playing hurt and things didn’t work in Cleveland. That happens to a lot of guys. Timmy Couch was no bust. Timmy Couch got broken the hell up in Cleveland. I coached him. Helluva player.”
Things did not work out for Mayfield in Carolina as he was waived after just seven games.
He then landed with the Los Angeles Rams to close out a rough campaign and has since signed with Arians’ Bucs in free agency.
Mayfield is expected to battle it out with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job in Tampa Bay this year and Arians is looking forward to the competition.
