In the post-Tom Brady era, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like they’re turning to Baker Mayfield.
And if he continues playing the way he did Friday against the Steelers, that might not go terribly.
Mayfield, 28, who reportedly will start Week 1, got off to a strong start in the preseason, going 8-for-9 on his throws, accumulating 63 yards through the air with a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 132.9 in Tampa Bay’s 27-17 loss to the Steelers.
The well-traveled Oklahoma native punched in his lone score of the night to rookie receiver Trey Palmer, picked in the sixth round of the 2023 Draft.
Mayfield lobbed a pass in the back of the end zone that Palmer snagged up high for the Bucs’ first score in the second quarter of the game.
Kyle Trask, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft and is likely to be the backup, followed Mayfield’s effort and immediately threw an interception.
Mayfield, drafted No. 1 overall in 2018, was signed by the Buccaneers during free agency in March, over a month after Brady’s retirement.
The signal-caller, who is on a one-year contract, has a base salary of over $1.1 million this season with a bonus of nearly $2.9 million, according to Spotrac.
The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams last season, accumulating 2,163 passing yards and 10 touchdowns to eight interceptions while completing 60 percent of his passes across 10 starts (12 games).
During his previous four seasons, all with the Cleveland Browns, he started 59 games and, in 2020, helped lead the team to their first playoff appearance since 2002.
Mayfield has 16,288 career passing yards with 102 touchdowns, 64 interceptions and a 61.4 completion percentage.
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