- Baker Mayfield is reported to be replacing Tom Brady’s vacancy on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2023 – 2024 NFL season
- Baker has been a quarterback in the NFL since 2018, starting with the Cleveland Browns
- Baker has played for three NFL teams during his career, not including the Bucs
- Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles announced that Baker would be the new QB after Tom Brady retired.
Baker Mayfield has some big shoes to fill! After Tom Brady’s retirement from pro football in early 2023, there has been much speculation about who would fill his shoes, and it’s now official that Baker, 28, will be the new quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team’s head coach Todd Bowles announced that the Heisman Trophy winner would take the job, after there was some debate as to whether it would be him or Kyle Trask. “[Kyle’s] gotten leaps and bounds better than he was in the spring and he’s continuing to get better and we’re excited about him. But Baker’s our guy right now, experience-wise and just understanding the playbook just a little bit better,” he announced on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, per USA Today.
After Tom officially retired “for good” from the NFL on Feb. 1, 2023, Baker’s name was circulated often. At the time, there were many reports that The Buccaneers would Baker Mayfield to a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million, per the NFL. With the new QB in place, read on to learn abouut Baker Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield Began His NFL Career On The Cleveland Browns
Baker Reagan Mayfield, 27, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, beginning his NFL career. The Browns had just come off a 0 – 16 record in 2017 and was only the second team in NFL history to do so. Baker made his mark in the third game of the season after the Browns’ starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was taken out of the game due to an injury. Baker ended up transforming the losing 0 – 14 score he was handed into a 21 – 17 victory over the New York Jets — the team’s first win since 2016.
Baker went on to throw 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns that season and even broke the record for touchdown passes by a rookie, according to his website. He was subsequently named NFL Rookie of The Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Baker Mayfield Has Played On Three NFL Teams In Four Years
The Carolina Panthers picked Baker up after Cleveland began pursuing Deshaun Watson, their current QB. Mayfield began the season as the starter but was taken out following an ankle injury in Oct. 2022 He eventually returned to the field, but was benched due to lackluster performance. The Panthers then waived Mayfield, and he was picked up by the Los Angeles Rams in Dec. 2022.
Baker Mayfield Is A Married Man
Baker married his fiancee Emily Wilkinson in Malibu, Calif. on July 6, 2019 after the couple made their public debut in early 2018. A week before their wedding, Emily shared a sweet video with Baker and reflected on him asking for her hand in marriage. “A year ago today, you asked me to spend forever with you, and next weekend we officially say ‘I do’,” she wrote on June 30, 2019. “I am truly the luckiest girl in the world.”
Baker last spoke about their wedding when celebrating their second anniversary together with a carousel of snapshots throughout their special day. “2 years,” he captioned the post. “can’t believe how fast it’s gone by. Here’s to dancing and laughing through many more.”
Baker Mayfield Loves Being A Younger Sibling
Baker was born to James and Gina Mayfield in Austin, Texas, on April 14, 1995. He has a brother, Matt Mayfield, who is five years older and also grew up playing sports. Baker once confessed that he loves being the baby of the family while wishing his mother a wonderful Mother’s Day in 2021. “Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there but especially to this sweet lady!” he captioned the above Instagram post that featured his mother. “Love ya mom, thanks for not having any more kids and making me a middle child.”
Baker Mayfield Helped Change NCAA Rules
After turning down offers from Washington State, Florida Atlantic, and RiceBaker, Mayfield walked onto the football team at the University of Texas Tech as a freshman. He became the starting quarterback, and for a reason: At the end of his freshman season in 2013, he had passed 2,315 yards on 218-of-340 completions and 12 touchdowns, per his website. However, he left the school once he learned his success was possibly not going to earn him a scholarship.
He was then accepted at Oklahoma, but because he was a transfer from another Big 12 school, he lost a year of eligibility to play for the 2014 – 2015 season. Baker and his family tried to appeal to the rule several times, noting that his case should not count because he was a walk-on at Texas Tech and never a recruited player with a scholarship. However, in June 2016, Baker’s rule was passed, and a player without a written scholarship offer from the school from which they planned to transfer became eligible to play for a new school within the conference without being penalized.
Baker ended his college career with the 2017 Heisman Trophy, which is the highest award a collegiate player can be given.