Todd Bowles names Baker Mayfield as Buccaneers' starting quarterback
Former No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield is getting another opportunity to lead a team. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles announced that Mayfield will start the season at quarterback, winning the job over former second-round pick Kyle Trask.
The Buccaneers clearly hoped Mayfield would win the job when they signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million with incentives. The former Browns starter would have had to lose the job to Trask in the preseason, but Bowles appeared to have made the decision prior to their win over the Jets this weekend.
Given the opportunity to insert Mayfield versus the Jets, Bowles opted to keep him on the bench. Instead, he reinserted Trask, who started the game and closed it out with a 13-6 victory.
Though Trask appeared to close the gap during the first few weeks of training camp thanks to some turnover issues from his counterpart, Mayfield widened the gap during the preseason opener last Saturday.
In just over a quarter of work, Mayfield completed 8-of-9 passes for 63 yards and an eight-yard touchdown strike to rookie wideout Trey Palmer. Trask, on the other hand, completed 6-of-10 passes for 99 yards.
Buccaneers celebrate naming of new QB1
Following the announcement, the Tampa Bay social media team posted a clip of the new starting quarterback with the caption: “Baker. Frickin’. Mayfield.” They also posted a graphic that read: “TIME TO BAKE.”
With the Buccaneers, Mayfield is starting for his fourth team in the NFL. Mayfield started six games for the Carolina Panthers last season. He then started another four for the Rams. As a starter with three teams so far, including the Browns, he has a 31-38 overall record.
Mayfield started the 2022 season passing for 1,313 yards while throwing for six touchdowns as well as six interceptions for the Panthers. He then had 850 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in five games for the Rams.
In five seasons in the NFL, the former Sooners star has accumulated a 61.4% career completion rate with 16,288 yards, 102 touchdowns and 64 interceptions. He’s also added 660 rushing yards while taking 170 sacks.
With Tampa Bay, Mayfield has huge shoes to fill. He follows in the footsteps of one of the greatest to ever play the game – Tom Brady. Brady helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl and two NFC South titles during his three seasons with the team. He retired as a seven-time champion at the end of the 2022 season.