“Buccaneers’ $100 Million QB Takes Surprising Shot at 7-Time Super Bowl Champion – Fans Are Shocked!”

In the world of NFL quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield and Tom Brady have rarely shared the same spotlight.

Tom Brady is widely regarded as the greatest football player of all time. In 23 seasons — 20 with the New England Patriots and the final 3 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Brady claimed 7 Super Bowl titles, 5 Super Bowl MVPs, and 3 NFL MVPs. He holds NFL records for career passing touchdowns, passing yards, playoff passing yards, and playoff passing touchdowns.

Baker Mayfield, on the other hand, is yet to reach a conference championship game or a Super Bowl, and is currently with his 4th team in 7 seasons. After making his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2023 with the Buccaneers, he signed a 3-year, $100 million contract with Tampa Bay in March 2024.

Despite the vast gap between their career achievements, Mayfield took the opportunity to critique Brady’s time in Tampa Bay during a conversation on the Casa de Klub podcast with former MLB pitcher Corey Kluber on September 17.

Brady, who led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in 2020 and topped the league in passing yards in 2021, also set NFL records for completions (493) and pass attempts (733) in 2022. However, Mayfield shared his thoughts on Brady’s impact on the team environment.

“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out.”

He continued, “… You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call throughout the week and they still called it during the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or a pass at the receiver’s feet. There were a lot of mind games going on.”

Mayfield’s Rollercoaster Career So Far

Why Mayfield chose to offer such a critique of a legendary figure like Brady is unclear. However, Mayfield himself has been the target of criticism throughout his career, dating back to his college days. After walking on at Texas Tech and being named Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2013, Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma when head coach Kliff Kingsbury declined to offer him a scholarship. At Oklahoma, Mayfield became a two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and won the Heisman Trophy in 2017.

Selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Mayfield’s career has had its ups and downs. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2022 after the Browns brought in quarterback Deshaun Watson on a record-breaking 5-year, $230 million contract.

Mayfield Playing His Way Into Top 10 QB Status in 2024

At just 29 years old, Mayfield still has time to elevate his career and potentially close the gap on some of Brady’s accomplishments. In 2024, he’s led the Buccaneers to a 2-0 start heading into Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, showing flashes of the form that made him a No. 1 draft pick.

“If you turn on the film from Week 1, if we had to name an MVP from Week 1, it was Baker Mayfield,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on September 16. “He looked unbelievable. This was the most decisive Baker Mayfield I’ve seen in his entire career. The ball was coming out fast, chunk play after chunk play. He was unbelievable in situational football, threw four touchdowns in the red zone, and made great plays with his feet on third down.”

Mayfield’s 2024 season could mark a turning point in his career. While his path has been much different from Brady’s, Mayfield may finally be hitting his stride as a top-tier quarterback. Whether he can sustain this momentum remains to be seen, but he’s certainly started to make his mark.