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Baker Mayfield recently signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the free agency period of the 2023 NFL offseason.
He is expected to take over as their starting quarterback for the upcoming 2023 NFL season after Tom Brady officially announced his retirement and has giant shoes to fill as Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time who also brought the Buccaneers a Super Bowl ring.
Mayfield recently discussed being Brady's successor in Tampa Bay during a recent interview. He had high praise for the former superstar while also explaining what he believes his place will be with his new team. He said:
“I’m never going to be Tom Brady. He’s the greatest of all time. I’m going to be me. We’ll do things differently, but it’s an honor to follow a guy like that.”
Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prior to the start of the 2020 NFL season after winning six Super Bowl rings in nine appearances across two decades with the New England Patriots.
He spent three years with his new team before retiring, making an appearance in the NFL Playoffs every year while also winning a Super Bowl ring.
Baker Mayfield's path to Tampa Bay is extremely different than Brady's as their careers to this point aren't even comparable. He has struggled to hold a starting job over the last few years and has never appeared in a Super Bowl.
It's wise for him to acknowledge that he doesn't expect himself to be the next Brady, nor should anyone.
The Buccaneers' job may be Baker Mayfield's final opportunity to be a starting QB
Baker Mayfield never quite lived up to being the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. He helped the Cleveland Browns make just one playoff appearance during his four years with the team.
The Browns were left unconvinced of him being their franchise quarterback, so they moved on in favor of Deshaun Watson ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
The player then joined the Carolina Panthers, where he failed to hold on to the starting quarterback job. He switched teams to the Los Angeles Rams midseason and received playing time when Matthew Stafford suffered a season-ending injury. He showed enough potential that he may be starting to turn things around, prompting the Buccaneers to give him one more shot as a starter.
It's debatable whether or not Baker Mayfield has done enough to still be a starting quarterback at this point in his career. If he struggles at all during his run with the Buccaneers, he could very well end up being a backup for the remainder of his career.
