Baker Mayfield's resurgence over the last few seasons has been one of the most impressive stories to play out in the NFL in some time. Mayfield went from the Cleveland Browns' No. 1 overall pick to an outcast scraping for backup jobs with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
He got one more shot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two years ago and has only proven himself and his team right in that decision. Mayfield had the best season of his career in 2024, finishing with 4,500 yards while completing 71.4% of his passes and throwing 41 touchdowns.
Frankly, no one expected this sort of a career revival. Nonetheless, Mayfield is now Tampa Bay's firm starter heading into his third season with the team. His lone problem though? He will be working with his third different offensive coordinator in that time.
Mayfield and new Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard will try to recreate the magic the quarterback found with Liam Coen in 2024. According to NFL insider Albert Breer, Mayfield has gone all in on making this relationship work.
"Earlier this year, Mayfield and his wife sold their place in his native Texas and moved full-time to Tampa," Breer said. "The upshot has been Tampa being able to hit the ground running in the spring.
"With Mayfield and Grizzard establishing early on their plans to tweak the offense Coen brought in last year, rather than overhaul anything...the quarterback had the chance to be the teacher for his young receivers before they even got in front of the coaches."
Obviously this decision required some significant sacrifice from Mayfield and especially his family. Regardless of circumstance, uprooting one's life to plant roots elsewhere is a considerable task.
But Mayfield has taken all precautions to ensure he may continue to operate at the high levels displayed throughout the 2024 campaign. He has fully committed to maximizing his time with the Bucs.
Now making that translate onto the field will be a different story as there will undoubtedly be some kinks to work through given the differences between Grizzard and Coen. Based on what Mayfield has demonstrated thus far, he and his new coach deserve the leash to work through it all.
