Buccaneers Quarterback Baker Mayfield Ready to 'Dive In Headfirst'
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New Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales praised Kyle Trask in his introductory press conference, but also emphasized he could only speak about the quarterback they had.
Well, now they have another after signing former Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, and Los Angeles Rams (all in 2022) quarterback Baker Mayfield to come in and compete for the Bucs' starting job.
And while Mayfield says he was a fan of Trask's when the third-year player was coming out of the Florida Gators program, he's also preparing for a make-or-break camp battle this preseason.
READ MORE: Baker Mayfield Speaks on Kyle Trask
"Not necessarily make or break. I view it as the start of my next chapter - whatever that might be," Mayfield said in his introductory press conference on Monday. "I'm building my resume. As coach Canalas said earlier, your film is your resume...I think I've learned that over the first five years of my career - just do the best I can right now and see where it goes."
The first four years of Mayfield's career took him to Cleveland where it took him just three to lead the franchise to its first playoff win since before he was born.
Just two years later, the Browns unceremoniously shipped him to the Panthers in a training camp trade following a very ugly and public divorce from their franchise quarterback.
When it was clear things weren't going to work out in Carolina, that team waived him and he was claimed by the Rams.
Now, he's back in the NFC South playing with the Buccaneers and looking to build on all the lessons he's learned along the way.
"Fortunately for me, I've had to learn a lot of new playbooks," Mayfield said about coming into yet another new offense. "Any time you get to learn from somebody else that's had different systems, to me it's an opportunity to pick successful tips and pointers that they have and you get to also relate it to things that you've been through. I'm excited about that."
Mayfield also appears to be excited to join Canales' offense as he tries to resurrect a once high-scoring unit back to that level of play.
"Realizing who (Canales) is, how he's going to tailor the offense to his playmakers - to me, that speaks volumes," Mayfield said. "You find a lot of guys that want to just run their system without really trying to play to the attributes of their players and that's not Dave...This is the time for growth and to learn what type of team you're going to be - then when you put the pads on, it really comes to fruition."
Given all he's been through, we might expect Mayfield to come in with his head down just looking to fit in and be part of the team.
And while he says he's certainly grown from his experiences, he's still bringing in a mentality that those who have watched his career will recognize immediately.
"Dive in headfirst," Mayfield said when asked about how he plans to approach learning Canales' system. "It's the only way I know how to do it...my approach is to just dive headfirst and just go all in and enjoy the process."
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On top of learning the system, he also said he's looking forward to getting to know his teammates. Guys like receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will undoubtedly be a big part of any success the quarterback might have.
Mayfield is excited to work with them and Russell Gage this offseason, and wants to get to know his receivers inside and out.
Fans of Tampa Bay know the feeling, as they are eager to learn their new quarterback. And to find out if this first step in moving on from a legend will result in more winning as the past three years have, or if it's a direct path to mediocrity.
Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82
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