After Tom Brady’s retirement, the Buccaneers needed to find a new QB1 for the 2023 season. They already had Kyle Trask on the roster, but they knew he needed some competition. Tampa Bay signed Baker Mayfield to a one-year, $4 million deal to compete with Trask to be the starter.
Today, the Buccaneers announced that Mayfield will be their starter for this season. The QB competition lasted longer than many expected, but the Bucs felt Trask needed a fair shot. He’ll now be starting for his fourth team in the last three seasons.
The Buccaneers announced Baker Mayfield as their starting QB
The #Bucs are going with Baker Mayfield as their starting QB, coach Todd Bowles announced.
The former No. 1 overall pick, Mayfield beat out Kyle Trask for the right to succeed Tom Brady and will start the Sept. 10 opener at Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/Fvcc47uI6J
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 22, 2023
Last season, Mayfield started the year on the Carolina Panthers. He played and started six games for them and went 1-5. Mid-way through the season, he was traded to the LA Rams. Mayfield played in five games for LA and made four starts, going 1-3. This offseason, the 28-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers.
This offseason, the Bucs had an open QB competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. The team felt that Trask deserved a fair shot to win the starting job, They wanted to see what how much he progressed after two years of sitting behind Tom Brady. Ultimately, Mayfield’s experience likely won him the job.
Tampa Bay signed Baker Mayfield with the thought that he would be the starter, but he needed to earn it in a QB competition. He did right from the beginning. https://t.co/8Bjp6asszR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 22, 2023
In their first preseason game, Mayfield started and Kyle Trask started their second one. The Buccaneers are trying to stay relative after Tom Brady’s retirement. They still have a talented offense, but they will only go as far as Mayfield can lead them. His best season as a pro came in 2020 when he threw for 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
He had 3,563 passing yards and went 11-5 as the Browns’ starter that season. The NFC South is arguably the weakest division in all of the NFL this season. Somebody had to win the division no matter what their record is. Tampa Bay is hoping that Mayfield can lead them to a to the postseason for a fourth straight season.
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