Over the past nine months or so, numerous individuals associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have offered reasons for why quarterback Baker Mayfield was an ideal replacement for Tom Brady following Brady’s long-term retirement in February 2023.
This month, NFL insider Pete Prisco of CBS Sports touched upon the subject coming off a training-camp visit with the Buccaneers.
“There were actually guys when I was there telling me that they like [Mayfield] more as a quarterback [and] as a guy than they did Tom Brady,” Prisco said during a recent appearance on “CBS Sports HQ,” according to the JoeBucsFan website. “Tom Brady was tough. He was a little standoffish. Yeah, not as a player, but as a person, yes. Not a bad guy, [but] they like [Baker] better.”
Brady famously earned six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots from 2000 through the 2019 season and then signed with the Buccaneers in March 2020 as a 42-year-old far more interested in picking up a seventh ring than making friends. Additionally, he wasn’t able to bond with teammates as much as in previous years ahead of his first season with Tampa Bay due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brady ultimately guided the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in February 2021 and to the divisional round of the playoffs the following season, but it’s now known he entered the final campaign of his legendary career going through a painful divorce that undeniably impacted his play on the field and his life off of it.
Following Brady’s retirement, Mayfield signed a one-year “prove it” contract with the Buccaneers in March 2023 as a 27-year-old looking to resurrect his career. He did just that by leading Tampa Bay to a division title and to a home playoff victory before signing a new three-year contract to stay with the club in March.
“His message was that the Bucs roster bonds more with Mayfield than with Brady because Mayfield is more one of the guys,” JoeBucsFan added about what Prisco said during the segment.
Prisco words don’t prove Brady was a negative for the Buccaneers by the time January 2023 rolled around, but they may serve as a reminder that there’s likely little chance the 47-year-old would seriously think about completing another comeback at this stage of his life.
