Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield recently told Casa De Klub that the Buccaneers organization wanted him to “bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun [in 2022].” And he expected the legend (and legendarily sensitive) Tom Brady to take that how exactly?
When presented with a graphic of Mayfield’s quote during Sunday’s Eagles-Bucs game, Brady (Tampa Bay’s quarterback from 2020-2022 and now a Fox color commentator) was clearly perturbed. Brady took the sort of prickly approach that you might expect him to, by metaphorically pointing to his championship rings, including one for the Buccaneers, in 2020.
“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings. If I wanted to have fun, I was going to go to Disneyland with my kids,” Brady said, none-too-subtly.
Shots fired!
Like most individuals in the digital era, the three-time NFL MVP Brady is known to keep receipts. Let the record reflect that Mayfield made those provoking statements to Corey Kluber a couple weeks prior to Tampa Bay’s recent matchup against the Eagles. At the time, I’m sure he was not anticipating Brady announcing one of his games so soon.
Only after Brady confronted Mayfield on the field and bluntly addressed the situation on-air did Mayfield reach for the “out of context” crutch.
A former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL draftee, Baker Mayfield seems to not take himself too seriously these days. He is on his fourth team in four years but has appeared to find a home in West Central Florida, which the hyper-competitive Brady (a known stickler for details) likely takes as some sort of threat. Mayfield is also a fiery player, only, a bit more easy going.
Mayfield (57.1) had a slightly higher QBR last year than Brady (54.6) did in his farewell campaign. Also, the Buccaneers made a deeper postseason run in 2023 compared to 2022 when the Dallas Cowboys sent the seven-time Super Bowl winner into retirement on Wild Card Weekend. And we know Brady is petty.
“I think a lot of that got taken out of context, and none of it was personal by any means,” said Mayfield to the media. “It’s just what [Brady] demanded of the guys, and that’s the aura of Tom Brady. And that’s what he did to bring a championship here.”
Upon defeating Philadelphia last Sunday, Mayfield asserted that his statements were relayed inauthentically. With Brady being the true pro that he is, he still gave Mayfield his “LFG Player of the Game” award, and Baker seemed on his best behavior while chatting with Tom postgame.
Brady and Mayfield are both thriving in their current roles. Brady’s television work has been insightful and engaging. Meanwhile, Mayfield ranks within the NFL’s top five quarterbacks in both yardage (984) and touchdowns (8) as Week 5 advances.
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