Baker Mayfield Shares His Interest For Joining The Bucs

At his first press conference as a member of the Bucs, quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke about what attracted him to coming down to play for the team and what he looks forward to when he puts on the red and pewter.

Bucs QB Mayfield On What Brought Him To Tampa Bay

Mayfield spoke about it right from the opening of his press conference on Monday afternoon.

“Just trying to stay patient with it,” Mayfield said. “It was kind of a domino effect with the quarterback market right now. Just trying to wait and be patient, see what the best fit would be, and with an organization like this that has had success, obviously, for a while in recent years as well, is important to me.

“To be in a place that’s stable, knows how to win, and how to do it properly. I’ve gotten to see different things from my journey that is not exactly how I drew it up but it’s helped along the way. Especially to make a decision like this and I wanted to go somewhere where we could win right away, and this is that place.”

For Mayfield, he will be the among the new crop of veteran quarterbacks joining the NFC South. With the additions of Derek Carr (Saints), Taylor Heinicke (Falcons), and Andy Dalton (Panthers), there is now plenty of experience in the division.

This is not his first go-around in the division either, having joined the Panthers via trade last offseason. While he already has a chip on his shoulder, joining the Bucs will allow him to prove outsiders wrong and to have two revenge games against a rival. His journey to get here has been far from linear, and it is his biggest challenge yet. He is still young enough (28 in April) to revive his career and turn it around.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Matt Matera P/R

If he does well filling in the shoes of Tom Brady, he has a shot to become the longest tenured Bucs starting quarterback. If he were to struggle or get benched in favor of Kyle Trask, he may have to settle into a career backup role. What lies ahead is “the process,” as he alluded to often on Monday.

Part of it will include playing for head coach Todd Bowles, who he got to know during the draft process of 2018.

“I’m happy to be in Tampa with a franchise that has success, and knows how to do it. I’m happy to be here under coach Bowles, who coming off of the draft, he was with the Jets and we got to know each other then, and so I’m happy to finally be working with him now.”

Bucs QB Mayfield “Excited” To Play With New WRs

While he was one domino to fall in the quarterback market, the Bucs arguably have the best collection of talent and the most recent record of success within the NFC South. This includes wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage, who restructured his contract to stay with the team.

“Anytime you get to play with playmakers like that, it obviously makes your job easier,” Mayfield said. “They’re so experienced, they’ve seen a lot as well. I’m excited to get the opportunity to play with them, Russell [Gage] as well, his sticking around was a big decision for him. Just eager to get to know those guys and work together.”

As he begins to build relationships within the building, today’s official signing and press conference is the first step.

“Now that I’ve signed the contract, we’ll start with that. Just trying to make sure it was official, now we’re all-in.”