Around this time last year, Baker Mayfield was cementing himself as the starting quarterback at Carolina as Tom Brady prepared for his third season on the Buccaneers offense.
In July it looks very different. Mayfield dropped out of the Panthers and then finished the season on a high note as a member of the Rams to help position himself for a job in Tampa, while the Bucs work to find a replacement for Brady in his retirement.
Mayfield is competing with Kyle Trask for that job, and he said Thursday he believes “the franchise will go the way the QB room does.” Outside opinions of Tampa’s room haven’t been glowing, but Mayfield said he won’t let that affect him as he prepares for the 2023 season.
‘I do not need anyone on the outside to tell me what I can or can’t do,” Mayfield said via the team’s website. “I know what I am capable of. Yeah, I mean, I got hurt in Cleveland. That’s why my run ended there. Last year it was what it was in Carolina. Everything happens with a reason. I’m here now and I’m ready to go. This team, you talk about skeptics and what’s the story around this team, I think it speaks to our veterans and the people who were part of the lead up to the Super Bowl and the success they’ve had recently more than I do. I will always have a chip on my shoulder. That’s how I approach every day, but it’s good to be in a room and a group that has had that success and still has that mindset. It fits well, but we’re going to write our own story. You can’t carry on anything from past years. You could internalize it and think about it, but nothing translates into the next year.
Mayfield used up plenty of opportunities as he moved through three teams in the last two seasons, so there may not be many more chances for a lasting run as a starter beyond this summer. The coming weeks will show how much he can make of it.
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