Baker Mayfield is feeling good.
The Buccaneers quarterback is taking training camp “one day at a time” as he competes with Kyle Trask to fill the Tom Brady-sized hole left at the quarterback position.
“Competition-wise, we’re trying to make the QB room as good as possible,” Mayfield told reporters Thursday.
“I’ve always said, ‘The franchise will go as the QB room does’ — how they jell, how they get everybody, how they communicate, get everybody on the same page, how they lead.”
Mayfield, 28, landed in Tampa Bay this offseason after signing a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the squad in March.
The former University of Oklahoma star is looking to reboot his career after a tumultuous stretch after getting selected first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Browns.
Mayfield was ultimately pushed out of Cleveland in July 2022 after suffering a torn labrum in October 2021 and seeing his performance decline despite leading the club to its first playoff victory in 26 years in 2020.
Mayfield spent just under a season with the Panthers before requesting a move and landing with the Rams, where he said he was able to “hit the reset button” for his career.
Now, in Tampa Bay, the 28-year-old is ready for a new challenge.
“I’ve been off social [media] for almost two years now,” Mayfield said.
“I’m wired different. I don’t need anybody on the outside to tell me what I can and can’t do. I know what I’m capable of. Yeah, I got hurt in Cleveland — that’s why my run ended there. And then last year, it was what it was in Carolina.
“But everything happens for a reason, so I’m here now.”
Trask, the Buccaneers’ second-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, sat behind Brady the last two seasons and now has a former Heisman Trophy winner to get past for the starting spot.
“Obviously, on the outside, there’s its own perspective, but as cliché as it sounds, you just want to compete with yourself and make sure you’re progressing every single day,” Trask said.
Mayfield echoed a similar sentiment and said he’s focussed on ensuring the team as a whole is progressing ahead of the 2023 season.
“I’m going to try to get everybody better, I’m still gonna be me, I’m still going to work my tail off to obviously start, that’s the goal, but to get everybody else better around me, to raise that standard as well,” Mayfield said.
