Baker Mayfield says Tom Brady 'stressed out' Bucs players and ruined plays he didn't like during a game

Baker Mayfield made it very clear when he first joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that he wasn't going to do things the way Tom Brady did and it's easy to see why: Brady did things his own way and it's almost guaranteed his accomplishments won't ever be matched.

So, why not carve your own path and do things your own way? That's how all the greats got to where they are, so why couldn't Mayfield do the same?

"I'm not Tom. I'm not going to try and be Tom," Mayfield said on an episode of NFL Now shortly after he signed with the Bucs in 2023. "He's the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, and he deserves that recognition. I'm going to be myself, and Tom was himself. I think all the greats try and do it their own way.

"I respect everything he did, and obviously people around here have worked with him, so I'm going to try and pick their brain about how he did it, how he operated and certain things that were the difference-makers and who he is.

"I'm excited about it. Those are big shoes to fill, but I'm just going to try and wear my own."

It's a good thing Mayfield carved his own path using his own methods, because as recently as Tuesday, he mentioned how Brady's methods wore on Bucs players and that Jason Licht and Todd Bowles wanted him to come in and reenergize the team after a very tough 2022 season.

"Front office guys and coach Bowles were all saying, 'Just be yourself. That's all we want you to be.'", Mayfield said on the latest episode of the Casa De Klub podcast . "The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in [and it was a] high-strung environment. So I think everybody was pretty stressed out.

"Everybody was expecting the Bucs to not be good last year. So they wanted me to come in be myself [and] 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 and as a player, you really can't ask for much more than that."

I mean, let's be real: Even Brady's FOX commercial about his new color commentary job is about his insane work ethic and attention to every detail. It's not far-fetched, at all, that his approach and his standard would start to weigh on his teammates.

Mayfield's change of personality has brought new life to the Bucs

Before the matchup against the Washington Commanders, Laura Okmin talked about how Bucs All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs said Mayfield is "a dude" because he can connect with his teammates on a level Brady couldn't. Okmin even went as far to say Brady never really hung out with guys outside of practice and games.

Mayfield, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. He's formed several strong bonds in Tampa Bay ( especially with Wirfs ) and is constantly seen in public with his teammates.

Regardless, as this is not an attempt to skewer Brady at all, Mayfield's handling of his leadership responsibilities has brought new life to the Bucs. Both on offense and defense. That was evident in last year's blowout playoff win over the Eagles and near-playoff-win over the Detroit Lions that was just avenged this past Sunday.

But don't get it twisted: Mayfield is here to win and he won't accept anything less.

"Obviously, every team sets out to win the Super Bowl every year," said Mayfield. "But for us, with the group that we have, a lot of the guys that they've extended this offseason, specifically, [we're] saying that, 'Alright, our time to win is right now. Let's push right now and learn as we go.'"

Mayfield also suggests Brady tanked plays during games

Lastly, Mayfield was asked about the craziest story he'd heard about Brady and his response was very interesting, to say the least.

“You hear some of the stories about if [Brady] didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still called it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet,” said Mayfield. “There’s a lot of mind games going on.”

Former Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, co-host of the podcast, then asked if Brady did it to "prove a point" to which Mayfield replied "yes".

Now whether or not that's 100% true remains to be seen, but, there were plenty of instances, especially in 2022, where Brady would ground balls or throw them at a receiver's very quickly after the snap. Coincidentally, 2022 was the year Byron Leftwich gained full control of the offense and his playcalling was very suspect. It makes total sense that Brady, a guy who is more than willing to live another down, would ditch a play he doesn't like simply because it's a bad design or ineffective call.

Granted, Mayfield didn't specify when or where Brady acted like this, but speculation certainly points to 2022, before anywhere else.

Either way you slice this, one thing is clear: It's a completely new era in Tampa Bay and things are looking very, very bright with Mayfield at the helm. Brady completely revamped the franchise at the highest level and now Mayfield is carrying the torch toward what he hopes becomes his own moment on the big stage.

"It's not that I've made it by any means. I only won a couple playoff games [and I] need to win the big thing. So, [I'll] go from there.