The Buccaneers couldn't have asked for a better transition behind center.
Tampa Bay received three great seasons from Tom Brady, who led the franchise to its second Super Bowl win in his first campaign away from the New England Patriots. Brady finally called it a career after the 2022 season, and the Bucs took a flier on Baker Mayfield as they ushered in a new era of the organization.
The low-risk move resulted in a very high reward, with Mayfield earning 2023 Pro Bowl honors while leading Tampa Bay to a third straight NFC South crown and a wild-card round playoff win. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick was rewarded with a three-year deal worth up to $100 million, and he already has the Bucs looking like a Super Bowl LIX contender.
Mayfield spoke out replacing Brady on the latest episode of the "Casa De Klub" podcast, and he explained the burnout Tampa players were experiencing near the end of TB12's tenure.
"The building was a little bit different with Tom in there," Mayfield said, as transcribed by JoeBucsFan. "Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out.
"So for me, and everybody was expecting the Bucs to not be good last year, they wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football a little bit for guys that weren't having as much fun, and just continue to raise the competition level. They just asked me to be myself. As a player, you really can't ask for much more than that."
There's more than one way to have success in the NFL. Brady himself learned that by thriving in Tampa Bay after working in a very defined structure with the Patriots for two decades. Thus, the future Hall of Famer might not take any offense to Mayfield's remarks.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Brady assesses the Bucs when/if he calls their games for FOX this season.
