Bucs’ Baker Mayfield delivers strong stance on running the football

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fielded one of the best offenses in the league last season behind the arm, and legs, of revitalized quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick, Baker Mayfield. Entering his third season with the franchise, there's no reason why Mayfield and the unit shouldn't take another step forward.

The Buccaneers are returning practically every member of their starting lineup while adding some interesting pieces through free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft.

Mayfield is coming off a career year where he completed 407/570 passes for 4,500 yards with 41 touchdowns to 16 interceptions while rushing 60 times for 378 yards and three more scores.

Jun 11, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) works out at One Buc Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Mayfield Is Greasing Up The Wheels

This was the second consecutive season where Mayfield accumulated 60+ rushing attempts. However, his 2024 rushing numbers were the highest of his seven-year career, more than doubling his next-best campaign.

Mayfield's athleticism and ability to improvise led to plenty of big plays for the Buccaneers. However, it also further increases his chances of suffering an injury, which would obviously be detrimental to the franchise.

Considering the physicality of the sport, Mayfield plans to take a calculated approach, picking and choosing when to play smart and when to take risks. With that being said, he's not going to second-guess tucking down the ball and letting his legs do the work.

"The coaches like to talk this time of the year. They sit around and watch. I'm trying to win games. Like I tell you guys, it's football," Mayfield said to BucsGameday's River Wells. "There's a time and place. On third downs and got-to-have-it situations, I'm going to do everything I can to get the first down or whatever we need. There's also a time and place to throw the ball away."

"I think, when it comes to protecting myself, the biggest thing is the sack number. A lot of that was holding onto the ball...there's give and take," Mayfield added. "There's the scramble element of trying to create explosive plays, but there's also situations in the game. Where are we at? Are we leading? Are we down? do we need something? Don't force it. Just throw the ball away and trusting our defense to get it back to us."

Mayfield will be playing for his eighth offensive coordinator in eight years this fall as Josh Grizzard takes the reins following Liam Coen's move to Jacksonville. The changes haven't negatively affected his performance so far during his tenure with the Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay concludes mandatory minicamp with its third session on Thursday.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 offseason.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

• Buccaneers set to face Aaron Rodgers at joint practice

• Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield highlighted as one of NFL’s top value QBs

• Baker Mayfield shares inside story on Buccaneers' OC transition

• NFL positional rankings include promising outlook for Buccaneers' starter