Bruce Arians On Baker Mayfield: “He’s Cocky, But At That Size You Better Be”
March 27th, 2023
The Quarterback Whisperer at One Buc Palace, Bucco Bruce Arians, finally has weighed in on Tampa Bay’s signing of Baker Mayfield.
Back in November of 2018 when he was a CBS game analyst, Arians told CBS Sports Radio that he would come out of coaching retirement for only one team: the Cleveland Browns.
“The only job I would consider,” Arians said.
Mayfield was the Browns’ rookie quarterback and Arians was on the broadcast for multiple Browns games that season, which led to Arians meeting with Mayfield before games and watching practices.
Six weeks after the comment, Arians was named head coach of the Buccaneers.
Per Arians’ chat with JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman yesterday, Arians remains a huge Mayfield fan.
“Great competitor, extremely accurate, “Arians told Kaufman. “I loved his competitive spirit [coming out of college].”
Arians went on to explain how he was more of a fan after watching him up close in 2018. “I loved everything about him,” Arians said.
Mayfield’s brash demeanor in past seasons didn’t cross a line, Arians added. “He’s not a punk. He’s cocky, but at that size you better be.”
As for the alleged quarterback competition between Mayfield and Kyle Trask (and Joe is confident there is no legitimate competition), Arians said Trask won’t be wearing a white flag.
“Kyle is not going to give in. Not a chance. It’s a great situation for the franchise,” Arians said.
Joe will note hearing Arians say multiple times in past seasons that teams with two quarterbacks really have none, referring to how there must a one true starter and no QB controversy.
March 27th, 2023 at 4:29 pm
I remember Seattle making a big free agency signing of a Packers QB. Russell Wilson ended up winning the starting role….so I don’t think anything is a given for Mayfield. Hopefully it’s a true competition that produces a clear winner.
March 27th, 2023 at 4:36 pm
Little guy with big ego? I dunno. BWAHAHAHAHA. We shall soon see.
March 27th, 2023 at 4:41 pm
That adage for having more than 1 QB meaning you don’t have A QB mostly used when there’s no clear cut starter in game situations, doesn’t apply here Joe. It’s March, we’ve got 2 QBs on the depth chart and are likely to add another. It’s only a controversy when there isn’t any more time for the QBs to separate from one another, but go off I guess 🤷♂️
March 27th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Mayfield is remarkably like Winston in performance, perhaps not quite as many interceptions. Ultimately he will be a very frustrating QB for us. Perhaps a strong running game will help. We will see.
March 27th, 2023 at 4:42 pm
Is Arians a better player talent evaluator than OC talent evaluator?
March 27th, 2023 at 4:45 pm
Teams are only considered to be “having 2 quarterbacks” when it isn’t clear who is the starter, or the starter is changing from week to week, within the regular season.
Having a competition going into training camp is not the same thing, IMO.
March 27th, 2023 at 5:05 pm
Arians … “Kyle is not going to give in. Not a chance. It’s a great situation for the franchise.”
I’m disappointed Joe. BA provided a great opportunity there to read between the lines. Oh well, I’m sure it’ll circle back around at least 1 more time.
March 27th, 2023 at 5:19 pm
Can’t believe Lamar asked for a trade and we’re settling on this bum baker mayfield or never done squat trask lol #itsabuclife
March 27th, 2023 at 5:25 pm
Sounds like he’d only coach if it were Baker or Jameis.
March 27th, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Knucklehead,
What part of 40 million guaranteed per year to a team digging itself out of cap hell does not register with you?
Also, Lamar is a punk-a$$ reee-tard.
March 27th, 2023 at 5:56 pm
Canales should lean heavily on BA for some perspective – just a wise thing to do, learn from mistakes BA’s made in the past, things that have worked and not, you know Bloweszo has nothing to offer Baker other than incentive to score more points.
March 27th, 2023 at 5:57 pm
I’d rather roll the dice with Baker than pay Lamar the malcontent.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Biff Barker … I’ve never heard Lamar was a malcontent. He just wants to get paid. He played last year on a franchise tag and said he’d so again. Informing the public he asked for a trade was a savvy move. Put pressure on the organization. I like it.
That said, I agree with you. I’d like to see what Baker can do for $8.5M before paying someone $40M AND giving up 2 firsts.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:23 pm
Arians loved Mayfield because he fit the No Riscuit, No Biscuit style. Bowles has already rejected that offense, so his praise of Mayfield lacks much relevance.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:29 pm
WHAT IF …
What if Baker throws for 3.5K, 30 TD, 10 INT?
I’m giving Baker a 2-3 year extension.
We’re going to reload the OL this year. If you add studs on DL, OLB, WR, RB next 1-2 years, this is a contender again.
GO BAKER!
March 27th, 2023 at 6:37 pm
Sasbitch
I see the baker buttbuddy fan club is out and have their Pom poms for the guy that’s been on 4 different teams in 12 months for the guy that had 2 good seasons in 5 congrats. Let’s throw a party. This the same salary cap that we couldn’t resign back dean and David? Or the same salary cap that we can’t afford to bring back everyone after the Super Bowl year? Remind me again. Your clueless if you think there’s not a work around.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:39 pm
@SlyPirate
I think Lamar played out his fifth year option, not the franchise tag.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:48 pm
Mayfield is 6’1″…….not a midget…..taller than Russell Wilson and same height as Jalen Hurts……
Smaller than the average NFL QB by an inch & a half…..
But…not a pipsqueak……Drew Brees was 6′
Let’s hope Arians is deeply involved with Mayfield….certainly can’t hurt.
March 27th, 2023 at 6:52 pm
Ha! That made me picture the chicken hawk on looney toons and now I can’t un-see him as the Henry the Chicken Hawk
March 27th, 2023 at 7:04 pm
Im reminded of a family guy joke. The more muscles a short guy has, the smaller they look. I’m a fan of 6 foot 3 and above QBs. It’s not so much as seeing over 6’7 lineman, as it is the release point. Brady threw the ball about as high as you could throw it. That makes it really hard to bat the ball down . Of course being taller helps, but baker throws more of a three quarters ball. I’d love to see the pff or next gen stats numbers on how many batted balls baker’s had in his career, relative to the field.
March 27th, 2023 at 7:24 pm
The price was right.
March 27th, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Knucknbuc Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 6:37 pm
*You’re
I’ve actually looked at overthecap. I know where they stand. You could do it if you wanna cripple the cap in future years for a piece of garbage diva demanding guarantees. And then you can’t afford to pay other guys.
March 27th, 2023 at 7:38 pm
For Al the Trask lovers. This is truly not a quarterback competition honestly. Bowles needs to kee his job so he’ll go with the vet. Trask is BA’s boy Bowles did not draft him so owes the kid absolutely nothing. I’m sure Licht did what BA told him to on that pick.
If you can’t even get a jersey on game day after being drafted the second round you’re likely toast.
March 27th, 2023 at 7:49 pm
Trask has a fair shot of being QB1. There is plenty of time to evaluate. No reason to gift the job to a journeyman on a 1 year deal. Kyle has paid his dues and will be given the opportunity to compete for the job. Something he hasn’t had to this point
March 27th, 2023 at 7:54 pm
SlyPirate … ‘What if Baker throws for 3.5K, 30 TD, 10 INT? I’m giving Baker a 2-3 year extension.’
In Jameis’ 5th year (2019), he threw for 33 TDs & 5109 passing yards. Granted there happened to be 30 INTs mixed in, but stay with me for a minute.
After an injury in his 6th year (2020 with the Saints) he bounced back in 2021 to throw 14 TDs against only 3 INTs (more of a game manager in their system?). That was in ONLY 7 games (he went 5-2 that year). Extrapolate that over 17 games, and you’d have 34 TDs against only 7 INTs, with approximately 2840 Passing Yards. Alas, Jameis only got in 7 games that year, not 17, so all that ‘extrapolation’ is just speculation.
Now fast forward to 2022. Jameis started 3 games and went 1-2. He threw 4 TDs against 5 INTs … before the Saints pulled the plug. Turned out Jameis really was who everyone thought he was.
And so it will almost surely be with Mayfield.
And BTW, I’d bet a dollar to a donut that IF Baker has a fantastic year this year (assuming that he beats out Kyle Trask that is), then I’m thinking he’ll want mega-bucks to remain a Buc. Remember the act that Jameis pulled at the end of his 5th year? He wanted big bucks too. But his track record over 5 years didn’t provide sufficient evidence of his greatness apparently. Well, except in Jameis’ agent’s eyes of course.
March 27th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
I don’t care if Mayfield is cocky, all I care about is if he can throw the ball while being pressured. Watching his film from the last two years, the answer to that is no, he can’t.
Hopefully something is different, but I don’t know what that is going to be.
March 27th, 2023 at 8:19 pm
30 picks is a HUGE difference Defense Rules….. Baker pulls of those Numbers, I would sign him for 2 more years easy, How you feel about the coach again Goatfarmer?
March 27th, 2023 at 8:23 pm
“Kyle is not going to give in. But he’s not going to get a fair chance. It’s a great situation for the franchise,” Arians said.
Fixed that statement.
March 27th, 2023 at 8:24 pm
This 4 teams in a year thing is a bit of a stretch. While factually true, he had to get out of Cleveland. The team that went after him was a train wreck, fired their head coach and attempted to tank. Wilkes saw to it that the plan failed but Baker could see that was a dumpster fire. So he goes to the Rams when Stafford went down and played well. The point is he had limited time in Carolina with few weapons and no time in LA. And how many systems did he endure in Cleveland?
I’m not a fanboi and have been known to refer to him as Manziel light, yet I’m intrigued. He basically has the Bowels of Toad’s in his hands
March 27th, 2023 at 8:55 pm
If Mayfield shows anything the Bowles cleaner is going to anoint him as the starter. It doesn’t much matter what Trask does.
Then Mayfield will probably dig a hole the whole season can fall into, before he gets yanked and Trask gets his go.
It is going to have to get really ugly before Trask plays because the Bowles cleaner is too shaky in his job, and he will think it will look better that way, then we can all watch the wheels come off.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:07 pm
LOL this is so telling…
March 27th, 2023 at 9:15 pm
Craig pretty much. Forget that Baker leads the league in INTs since he’s been drafted – these guys love him and try to sell him every day.
You can tell from the feedback here and elsewhere the buy-in from fans has not materialized.
Everyone knows Trask got jobbed. EVERYONE. That deflates any potential enthusiasm that could have been had for Mayfield – even knowing his issues.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:29 pm
I agree with Sasquatch! We got what we got, not let’s play our best football and surprise a few people!
March 27th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
Sasbitch,
So why is he a pos diva?? But baker is some Saint right? Never heard a teammate or coach say anything really remotely negative about Lamar. Maybe you just got your panties in a bunch cuz baker had 1 drive against the crap raiders and beat the terrible broncos last year whoop de doo
March 27th, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Mike S Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 9:15 pm
Really? Everyone?
I don’t know that. Trask will not be number 1 at the beginning because he’s never started an NFL game. They’re both starting from zero with the new offense, but Mayfield will have an edge due to experience running multiple offenses and starting games… but if Trask outplays him in TC and preseason, I have no doubt he’ll start. So the opportunity is there, if he can capitalize… and if he can’t, then it means Trask is not as great as the fanboys think he is.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:54 pm
How did Trask get jobbed? Here we are with this Conspiracy nonsense. How exactly is he being jobbed? Mike S, since everyone knows it, you should have multiple sources with the evidence.
Produce or STFU.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:54 pm
Cocknbuc Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
Real clever with the Sasb!tch dude. Quality stuff.
Why is he a diva? I refer you to his contract demands including full guarantees. Claims he turned down a contract that would have averaged something like 44 million per year. Ph0ueck that guy.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:55 pm
C0cknbuc Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
Real clever with the Sasb!tch dude. Quality stuff.
Why is he a diva? I refer you to his contract demands including full guarantees. Claims he turned down a contract that would have averaged something like 44 million per year. Ph0ueck that guy.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:55 pm
C0cknbuc Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 9:32 pm
Real clever with the Sasb!tch dude. Quality stuff.
Why is he a diva? I refer you to his contract demands including full guarantees. Claims he turned down a contract that would have averaged something like 44 million per year. Phunck that guy.
March 27th, 2023 at 9:56 pm
Wait – Mike S, is your name ByRon Leftwurst?
March 27th, 2023 at 10:16 pm
Sas – I know we’ve had some kerfuffles but that was a solid take down of cocknbuc.
March 27th, 2023 at 10:19 pm
And Mike S will now become a ghost until he can spin his Conspiracy nonsense into a totally different context, misunderstood, all that jazz.
But Trask got JOBBED! Because he earned his starting role! And everyone knows Mike S was right with him, rep after rep watching his stellar Traskness. If only the professionals at OBP and the rest of the league knew what Mike S knows about Trask.
March 27th, 2023 at 10:37 pm
Mike S Says:
March 27th, 2023 at 9:15 pm
Everyone knows Trask got jobbed. EVERYONE.
I am sitting here tonight in my Florida Gator polo, and I know that Task was not jobbed. Grow a pair. If Trask is good enough, he will get the opportunity to start for the Bucs.
March 27th, 2023 at 11:19 pm
Naa Trask got jobbed! Rudy Carpenter was jealous Kyle got drafted in the 2nd round and paid the staff to soil Trask’s reputation, Glennon threw in a few coins, and Bruce Gradkowski was seen in the building, strapping Trask to the chair in the Isolation Room.
March 27th, 2023 at 11:32 pm
I will compare Baker Mayfield in two ways with Drew Brees. First look at their respective physical statures. Brees was 6-0, 210 and Mayfield is 6-1, 215. Second go back and check out their shaky early careers.
Not making any predictions, just saying you never can tell.
March 27th, 2023 at 11:39 pm
But, Kyle Trask got jobbed and everybody knows it!!!
Mike S has all the proof and will soon produce so much sinister evidence exposing the Trask Suppression Conspiracy, your toes will curl.
March 28th, 2023 at 2:33 am
BAHAHAHA so many of you will be eating crow when Trask is QB1 for the first game of the season.
Trask will start the season for many reasons…
1. The Glazers aren’t stupid. They know a large % of Bucs fans and ticket holders are Gators fans. Trask set all kinds of records at UF and not letting him start the season with the starting team will make a lot of those fans angry.
2. Licht doesn’t want to look stupid by having a 2nd round pick not even have a chance to play and prove himself (one way or another) on the field.
3. If Trask starts and stinks it up, it lets the Glazers and Licht off the hook because fans will have seen him not do well and will understand having Mayfield take over.
4. The Bucs are in cap hell. The last thing they want is for Mayfield to ball out and then command a $250M+ guaranteed multi-year contract next season; or to potentially lose him as a free agent after they let him be the starter this season. Trask’s upside has them with another cheap year with him playing in 2024.
The Bucs have every incentive and reason to have Trask start.
March 28th, 2023 at 4:33 am
Mayfield has to be QB1 at the start of the season. With numerous starts under his belt, he’s far less risky than Trask who has only ever dressed for one NFL game. This gives the “deliberate” Trask more time to study, get acclimated to game situations and keeps the pressure off of him until the inevitable game where Baker is either injured or pulled. It’s the only sensible plan. If Trask lays an egg when he goes in, you go back to Mayfield. If not, you never look back.
March 28th, 2023 at 7:31 am
per Baker Mayfield…
“He has had 48 passes batted down at the line of scrimmage since coming into the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, which is more than any quarterback during that span, according to ESPN Stats and Information.”
March 28th, 2023 at 7:43 am
Trask To The Bench-
Yawn. I’m not convinced. Try again…
Angry Gator
Lol
March 28th, 2023 at 7:57 am
The Trask fanboi has his DNA splattered all over his Kyle Trask poster, so he’s all in at this point. Obviously a steady diet of peyote bud is harmful to cognition.
March 28th, 2023 at 12:27 pm
I kinda wish we had a head coach who has the attitude of BA, not sleepy, terse Bowles.