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The shadow of Tom Brady continues to loom over the NFL, and for new Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, it feels like it's getting closer. With Mayfield battling for the QB1 job against Kyle Trask, many thought that the job was Baker's to lose...but it's also closer than people think.
The idea of Brady returning to the NFL will not go away until Week 1 is officially underway. For Mike Florio, the fact that the quarterback battle between Baker Mayfield and Trask is tight, isn't a good thing for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Florio said via NFL on NBC:
"Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, the two QB contenders. Not that long ago, Antoine Winfield Jr. suggested the Buccaneers are still trying to get Brady to come back but he's not. But the fact that it's tight, that's not a good sign for Baker Mayfield."
Florio's co-host and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms then chimed in and said how Trask has made the quarterback battle a lot closer than many thought it would have been:
"Sounds like Kyle Trask leaped over some hurdles and start making some plays and opened some eyes at camp to make things a little closer."
Baker Mayfield hoping for stability in his NFL career
Stability and familiarity for a quarterback is their best friend, and aside from his first four years in the NFL, that is something Baker Mayfield hasn't had.
Last season, Mayfield started as a Carolina Panther, and it didn't go well. He had a record of 1-5 before he was moved on to the Los Angeles Rams.
Baker played his first game less than 48 hours after signing with the team, which was a famous win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, Mayfield is on yet another team in the Buccaneers.
Three teams in a year isn't ideal for Mayfield, but hopefully, now he can get a consistent run of games together as a Buccaneer. However, even that now looks shaky.
Signed as the starter for many, Baker is now in a fight for his NFL future, and Trask is also putting his best foot forward in the hopes of winning the starting job.
If Trask wins the QB battle, then who knows what that will mean for Mayfield's future in the NFL.
