Buccaneers leaders discuss why Baker Mayfield was perfect Tom Brady replacement

Even before quarterback Baker Mayfield guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a home playoff victory in January, numerous individuals within the organization explained why he was the perfect replacement for living legend Tom Brady following Brady's retirement in February 2023.

Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht expanded on that topic during recent conversations with Jeff Howe of The Athletic.

"With the greatest quarterback of all time leaving, you needed a guy to change the culture in a different kind of direction (the franchise) was going in," Bowles explained. "I thought [Mayfield] was that perfect guy. He came in here and … exceeded expectations."

From January 2022 through February 2023, Mayfield was with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams before he signed a one-year contract with Tampa Bay in March of that year.

According to Pro Football Reference stats, the 29-year-old finished his first regular season with the Buccaneers ranked 12th in the league among qualified players with a 94.6 passer rating, seventh with 28 passing touchdowns and ninth with 4,044 passing yards.

Most importantly, he helped a team that began December at 4-7 win five of six games to enter the postseason tournament as a division champion. Mayfield and the Buccaneers then earned a 32-9 wild-card playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles before Tampa Bay lost to the Detroit Lions by a score of 31-23 the following weekend.

"The team rallies around him and plays with his personality, which is blue-collar, tough, resilient," Licht added about Mayfield. "He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around. Those guys gravitate to him. … He knows how to treat his receivers. He knows how to talk. He knows he’s got to back up his talk. He holds himself very accountable. He does all these things naturally. It’s not an act. He’s exactly the type of personality you want … at that position."

This past March, the Buccaneers held onto Mayfield via a new three-year contract that only guarantees him a job with the organization through the upcoming season.

In short, the first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft still has work to do to silence doubters and show he can follow in Brady's massive footsteps for more than a couple of years.