The Remaking Of Baker Mayfield
October 12th, 2023
Story behind the story.
Want to know all about how Baker Mayfield became your Bucs quarterback? Well, here is a very deep dive into the backstory of how Mayfield got here and won the starting job.
Jeremy Fowler, Jenna Laine and Sarah Barshop of ESPN did a tremendous digging deep for what makes Mayfield click and why the Bucs knighted him starter.
Some highlights:
* The Bucs prior to free agency mapped out what quarterbacks were available in the draft and free agency. Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Todd Bowles each ruled out drafting Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson because the ransom to trade up was too prohibitive.
Licht and Bowles also crossed out the names of available veterans Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr for the same reason: Cost.
So it came down to two: Drew Lock and Mayfield. Licht sided with Mayfield because of his potential upside. Bowles’ past research on Mayfield when he was with the Jets sealed the decision.
* As Joe first reported and later first confirmed with Baltimore sources, the Crows were serious about going after Mayfield. At the time, Lamar Jackson’s future was in flux. Mayfield’s camp steered him to the Bucs because, correctly, they didn’t believe Baltimore would give up on Jackson.
* Mayfield was sold on the Bucs for many of the same reasons Tom Brady was: weapons. The core of a Super Bowl-winning team was still here in Tampa Bay.
* Kyle Trask really was in a battle for the starting quarterback job because he improved so much under new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales. This, per Fowler, Laine and Barshop, is not hyperbole. Trask had “the upper hand” after more than one practice.
* During a staff meeting to study tape after practice of Mayfield and Trask, Licht had what music bouncing off the walls? Why, AC/DC of course!
In the end, Mayfield won out due to a combination of performance, leadership and Bowles’ comfort level. The biggest drawback was Trask’s inexperience, Fowler noted. Left unsaid was that Bowles needed wins for job stability.
All in all, this is a really good piece of research by the four-letter.
October 12th, 2023 at 12:49 pm
It was a great read indeed!!
Something going overlooked is perhaps we do have two qb’s and not one….in todays injury riddled league and with Bakers tendency to not slide – Trask makes for a very good insurance policy
October 12th, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Baltimore would have been a bad pick. Ride the pine behind Lamar waiting for him to get hurt. Also, a reunion with OBJ? I don’t think so. Tampa has gracious WRs who are elite.
Really glad Baker chose wisely. He has a ton left in the tank, and we have yet to see a really good game. I believe it is coming. Maybe this weekend starting with a score on the 1st drive. Tampa has been horrible in the 1st quarter and the 3rd. That usually points to bad preparation on what you THINK the team is going to do. What you have planned just doesn’t work. Better numbers in the 2nd and 4th point to Baker WILLING this team to victory IMO. I’m sure IN GAME adjustments by Canales has helped, but if we ever start strong, this offense could be really good.
October 12th, 2023 at 12:57 pm
Right!, why can’t we have two good QBs? Ohhh wait for some reason having a good back up means you don’t have any QBs. Tell me again how good BL is BA……
October 12th, 2023 at 1:28 pm
No, that was the issue. At the time Baltimore was talking to Mayfield, Jackson’s status was up in the air.
October 12th, 2023 at 1:57 pm
I think we just might have three good QBs.
October 12th, 2023 at 2:13 pm
I thought we collectively hashed these same things out in August?
October 12th, 2023 at 2:30 pm
I am hoping Baker is a younger version of Rich Gannon becoming a top NFL QB later in his career after going to the Raiders.
October 12th, 2023 at 3:10 pm
This is a mighty big game Sunday. Lions blogs have completely dismissed the Bucs as a fluke. We need to come out with fire intensity from the first minute all the way thru. Everybody needs to step it up. I expect nothing from Kancey.
He hasn’t practiced in over 2 months and if he does play it’ll be on a tiny pitch count so forget him doing anything in this game. Evans and his F’n hamstring issues again. That was only a matter of when. I don’t see how we win this game without him. Do we have enough horses without him to get this win Sunday?
October 12th, 2023 at 3:43 pm
BucU … ‘Do we have enough horses without him to get this win Sunday?’
Depends how you see the game going. If it’s a defensive struggle and the Bucs hold the Lions to say 17 points (OUR 4-game average), then yes we might have enough horses to put up say 18-20 points. But if the Lions put up 30 points (THEIR 5-game average), then no we probably don’t have the horses to out-score them.
Players who are hurting can hurt the team if they insist on playing IMO. We’ve all played enough sports I’m sure to know how much every player wants to be out there with his team, but we’ve got some decent backups in certain position groups. Often times, a backup at 100% plays better than a regular operating at 80%. NFL teams are masters at picking on the weakest link.
October 12th, 2023 at 3:51 pm
You know, I always hear about the “weapons” the Bucs have on Offense. But other than Evans and Godwin, who do they have? White? Nope. Tight Ends? Nope. The rookie receiver and the second year receiver seem to be good.
Wirfs, of course, but who else on the offensive line? Goedeke is looking good. The rest of them are not weapons.
I think Mayfield is a significant upgrade insofar as playing behind a weak interior offensive line is concerned. Brady would be getting killed this year.
They better re-sign Evans. If they don’t, Godwin is going to get covered like a glove. At the end of this year, they have to upgrade at Center and running back.
October 12th, 2023 at 3:52 pm
You know, I always hear about the “weapons” the Bucs have on Offense. But other than Evans and Godwin, who do they have? White? Nope. Tight Ends? Nope. The rookie receiver and the second year receiver seem to be good.
Wirfs, of course, but who else on the offensive line? Goedeke is looking good. The rest of them are not weapons.
I think Mayfield is a significant upgrade insofar as playing behind a weak interior offensive line is concerned. Brady would be getting killed this year.
They better re-sign Evans. If they don’t, Godwin is going to get covered like a glove. At the end of this year, they have to upgrade at Center and running back.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:25 pm
We all know;
There was no true competition. Trask defeated Baker in training camp and nailed it against the Jet game. They protected Baker by playing him as little as possible to minimize his negative exposure in case he plays bad.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:44 pm
Important 3 games. A win against 2 outa 3 would be great
October 13th, 2023 at 2:00 am
I don’t disagree with any of those statements. However I think Bowles had more input than just comfort level. Did Canales get a vote? Add to that the doubt I have of most all sports journalists including these two, leads me to believe this is alot of conjecture and opinion. It makes perfect sense though. Including quotes from Bowles, Canales, and Licht is all the stuff we already knew. Pretending to be a fly on the wall at meetings is typical of todays crap journalists.
Go Bucs!
October 13th, 2023 at 8:36 pm
My guess is the Bucs had a pretty good idea of what Baker could do and always intended for him to be the starter. They played Trask most because they needed to know what he could actually do. He had spent two years totally in Brady’s shadow and nobody knew how good, or bad he might be. As it turned out Task played very well and the Bucs knew they didn’t have to spend big bucks for an experienced, but over the hill back up. Smart move!