2 weeks Ago
Tom Brady brought a Super Bowl-winning mentality to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his way of doing things had many in the building "stressed out." Mayfield reflected on Brady's influence in the Buccaneers' locker room, noting the intensity surrounding the team during his tenure. "The building was a little bit different with Tom in there," Mayfield said during an appearance on the Casa de Klub podcast with former Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber.
"Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out." © Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images Mayfield took it upon himself to lighten the mood and play free of expectations.
It worked, with the Bucs defying expectations last year with a playoff berth and an upset win against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card. "For me, and everybody was expecting the Bucs to not be good last year, they wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football a little bit for guys that weren't having as much fun, and just continue to raise the competition level. They just asked me to be myself," Mayfield said.
"As a player, you really can't ask for much more than that." Tampa Bay signed Mayfield to a three-year, $100 million extension this offseason. So far, he's proving his value.
The Bucs are off to a 2-0 start and Mayfield has passed for 474 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception. His QB rating of 142.4 is the second-highest in the league.
Related: Chiefs Sign Former Rushing Leader After Isiah Pacheco Injury Related: Shedeur Sanders Gets Honest on Colorado's Big 12 Title Hopes.
