Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter a well earned bye week with a record of 6-2 and at the top of the NFC South. The team has had to deal with a ton of injuries this season, especially at the skilled positions.
Chris Godwin missed most of the year with injuries, and Mike Evans is out for an extended period of time with a broken collarbone. Other guys like Jalen McMillan and Bucky Irving have missed time as well.
The only constant for Mayfield has been rookie Emeka Egbuka, who is putting together a spectacular rookie season. Despite having that many injuries to his weapons on offense, Mayfield hasn’t let that impact his performance at all.
He has thrown for 1,919 yards, 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Linebacker Lavonte David has been in Tampa Bay since the Buccaneers drafted him with the 58th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. He played with many quarterbacks throughout his career, including with Tom Brady.
Having played with Brady and Mayfield, David said even though they are different, they have one important thing in common.
“Tom was a detail-oriented focus pinpoint guy,” David said on The Arena Gridiron podcast. “He’s one of those OCD guys where everything has to be perfect. Bake, he just goes out there and has fun. When something’s not done right, we go and talk to him and get it corrected. Bake is a locker room guy. The thing I really love about them both is the passion they have and the competitive nature they have. The same thing I saw with Tom I see with Baker so I love to see that.”
They entered the league in two completely different ways. Brady was famously drafted with the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, while Mayfield went No. 1 in the 2018 draft.
After Mayfield left Cleveland, there were thoughts that he was done in the NFL. As he went from Carolina and Los Angeles before the Buccaneers gave him a chance in 2023. Since then, the rest is history as the Buccaneers have won the NFC South in each of his first two seasons.
These two are a perfect example of how there is no ‘right way’ to do things, but you have to find what works best for you.
Both of them have been able to provide Buccaneers fans with incredible moments, and Mayfield still has a ton left in his future with Tampa Bay.
Right now, Mayfield and his team are focused on getting healthy and continuing to get better as they prepare for what they hope is a long run in the playoffs.
With their record, they are right there in the thick of things to potentially get the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If Mayfield is able to continue his play throughout this season, they may just have another thing in common in terms of bringing the Buccaneers a Super Bowl championship.
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.