Baker Mayfield with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Baker Mayfield with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
NFLBy DJ Byrnes on

Baker Mayfield probably didn’t envision being on his fourth team in his fifth NFL season after the Cleveland Browns selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 season.

But that’s exactly what Mayfield faced when he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early this offseason to compete with veteran Kyle Trask for the unenviable job of replacing the legendary Tom Brady at quarterback.

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles took the quarterback competition through most of training camp. However, with the Buccaneers poised to face the Baltimore Ravens in both teams’ final preseason game of 2023, the team announced Mayfield as the starting quarterback on Tuesday.

While nobody is expecting Mayfield to totally replace Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the sport, finding the consistency that has eluded him throughout his career would go a long way toward helping the Buccaneers return to the playoffs after losing Brady to retirement.

Mayfield entered the league in 2018 with the Browns. He then gave back millions of dollars in guaranteed contract money to facilitate a trade to the Carolina Panthers, who would later trade Mayfield to the Los Angeles Rams. He enjoyed some success there before signing with the Buccaneers.

The NFL world was quick to react to news of Mayfield once again earning a starting role in the league, and to the way the Buccaneers announced it:

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