Buccaneers Defensive Lineman Compares Baker Mayfield's Personality to Tom Brady
After the 2022 NFL season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost all certainty at the quarterback position. Tom Brady -- the greatest quarterback the NFL has seen -- retired for a second time and it stuck.
With the lack of certainty, the Buccaneers signed Baker Mayfield, whom the NFL had seemingly given up on, to a cheap contract in a no-lose situation. What the Buccaneers couldn't have expected was Mayfield providing great leadership alongside his ability to play well on the field.
Veteran Buccaneers defensive lineman Will Gholston even compared Mayfield to Brady when it comes to personality while speaking on FOX Sports Radio earlier this week. This was high praise for Mayfield, who won over the Buccaneers locker room.
“Amazing, bro,” Gholston said. “He’s one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met. Real down to earth. Real genuine guy. Super competitive. Like, I’ll walk through a dark alley with that guy.”
While winning over the team's locker room, Mayfield also threw for 4,044 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns with just ten interceptions. He created a positive environment and good culture while helping translate to wins on the field.
"For me, I can say that I like a guy who I know will knuckle up when it’s time to knuckle up and he’s not going to shy away from that. So it’s easy to follow a guy like that,” Gholston said.
Mayfield's potential return would be huge for a franchise that looks to continue establishing a culture as it continues to transition to a new era. For the Buccaneers, having stability from a quarterback the team can rally behind is huge.
“He was, man, somewhat in the same [as Mayfield], I would say,” Gholston said. “I would knuckle up with Brady, too.”
For Mayfield to draw comparisons to Brady is a huge compliment, as the NFL legend won one of his seven Super Bowls with the Buccaneers in 2021.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.