Baker Mayfield confident in Bucs, himself in season ahead

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

National pundits and oddsmakers have the Bucs as being one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2023 as they move on without Tom Brady, but quarterback Baker Mayfield has confidence in his new team’s ability to compete in the NFC South.

“I played in this division last year, and I’m pretty sure the Bucs won it still,” Mayfield said after Tampa Bay’s first OTA workout Tuesday. “I don’t really care what some people in Vegas think the odds are. It’s May. We haven’t played a real snap of football. There’s a long way to go before that. It’s the time of year where everybody’s pretty bored and they don’t really have much to talk about. It makes it fun.”

Tampa Bay won the NFC South with an 8-9 record last year, repeating as division champs for the first time in franchise history. But with Brady retired and the team limited by salary-cap constraints this spring, the Bucs aren’t seen as a favorite, with the lowest over-under in the division on total wins, currently at 6.5. NFL power rankings frequently have the Bucs near the bottom of the league, with ESPN putting them 30th recently and Pro Football Talk putting them 31st.

Mayfield is a former No. 1 overall pick who is now on his fourth team in less than a year, having been traded from the Browns to the Panthers last summer, then finishing the 2022 season with the Rams. He went 2-8 as a starter last year but is eager for a chance to show he can be more like the passer who led the Browns to a playoff win three seasons ago.

It’s unclear which if any of his former teams Mayfield was referencing, but he said one of the best things he likes about his early impressions of Tampa Bay is that it’s a “no-BS squad.”

“That’s the best part,” Mayfield said. “No distractions, no other nonsense. It’s just how about, ‘How can we get on the same page towards winning?’ That’s how you build a great franchise and that’s why it is one.”

OTA workouts are voluntary for players, and most of the Bucs’ biggest names were not in attendance Tuesday, but Mayfield and receiver Chris Godwin were, recognizing the importance of getting ahead in learning a new offense from new coordinator Dave Canales. Mayfield is competing with third-year pro Kyle Trask, who spent two years as a backup to Brady and has thrown only nine passes in regular-season games.

Mayfield has a significant advantage in experience, but Bucs coach Todd Bowles said it’s still too early to see anyone as being ahead in understanding the new offense better than anyone else.

“They’re all learning at the same time,” Bowles said. “As the weeks go on and we grasp everything, you’ll start to see leadership qualities come out of him that I know he has, that I know Kyle has as well. When that starts to happen, then you start making the determination of where we want to go.”

Godwin said the team’s focus right now is just learning together — “to pull the rope in the same direction” — but that he already sees how motivated Mayfield is to show what he can do as a starting NFL quarterback.

“It seems like he’s going to be a fiery competitor,” Godwin said. “You can tell he’s a pro. He came in, he’s locked in, he’s communicated with guys. We’re trying to get to know each other. He seems like a guy that wants to be one of the guys, and he’s not trying to step on anybody’s toes. He’s trying to be one of the guys.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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