Buccaneers teammate hints Baker Mayfield could take more risks this season

Adam Slivon of Pewter Report noted back in July how Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said at that time he was "in the best shape I’ve been in a long time."

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Tampa Bay running back Rachaad White teased that Mayfield's physical changes could lead to the 29-year-old taking more risks during games this coming season.

"Man, him coming in here just shaving weight and just looking good, looking more explosive, making more plays outside the pocket and stuff like that," White said about Mayfield, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "[He’s] been awesome in extending plays. I mean, he looks like an action figure. Man, I tell him that."

As the JoeBucsFan post explained, Mayfield "making more plays outside the pocket" raises alarms because of his size and his injury history. Pro Football Reference somewhat generously lists Mayfield at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. The first pick of the 2018 NFL Draft playing with a serious injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder while with the Cleveland Browns in the fall of 2021 resulted in the end of his time with that organization. This past January, Mayfield nursed injured ribs and a sore ankle as he guided the Buccaneers to a 32-9 wild-card playoff victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

After Mayfield won three of his first four starts with Tampa Bay last season, head coach Todd Bowles publicly acknowledged he wanted the signal-caller to take fewer hits during games. Interestingly, former Buccaneers defensive star and current NFL Network personality Gerald McCoy revealed in June that Mayfield "spent most of the 2023 offseason rehabbing" from injuries the quarterback picked up over the previous campaign.

"I know [Mayfield] had a baby on the way last year, so I kind of know how that feels to gain weight when you’re naturally not trying to gain weight but [you are] because you have a baby," White said about his QB1. "I ain’t gonna lie. I be on him. He was bigger last year, for sure, and he talks about it all the time."

The Buccaneers rewarded Mayfield with a new three-year contract to keep him from reaching free agency this past March, but history shows the club could look to move on from that deal as soon as next offseason. Thus, Mayfield still has plenty to prove and millions upon millions of reasons to be "in the best shape" of his life ahead of the regular-season opener versus the Washington Commanders on Sept. 8.