Baker Mayfield Jokes One Bucs Coach Has Been Getting On His Nerves

Baker Mayfield began his 2025 season where he left off from 2024, but things quickly fell apart, not only for him, but the team as a whole.

Mayfield, who is entering a contract season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, dealt with numerous injuries throughout the season that hampered his play. However, inconsistent play was still at the forefront of why we couldn't see what he or the Bucs were capable of last season.

Mayfield is adamant about bouncing back in 2026, and when speaking with us during media availability following mandatory minicamp practice, he spoke on one aspect of his game that has been the center of his attention this offseason.

Chandler Whitmer Honing In On Baker Mayfield's Footwork

"Really staying consistent with footwork. I think there were things that, you know, I kind of lost track of some of that during the last half of the year. And Chandler's really good at it," Mayfield said. "Chandler Whitmer has really been honing in on it. At times, it can be pretty annoying how meticulous he is about it, but for me, I love that. I want to be coached hard, and I think he's doing an incredible job. So, first and foremost, footwork, in this system, is all based on footwork, the timing of the routes, the concepts. So, if I'm on time, good things will happen, especially with the weapons we have."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfiel — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Whitmer, who helped develop the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, Fernando Mendoza, from a dud at Cal to a Heisman Trophy winner at Indiana, has been working closely with Mayfield since being hired as the quarterbacks coach in Tampa Bay this offseason. And it seems as if that relationship has come to full bloom.

Mayfield has struggled with his footwork throughout his career. The jittery feet, or happy feet, have become a thing with Mayfield at times when he is in the pocket and not able to find an open receiver, so focusing on calming that down and implementing a more controlled operation with his legs has been at the forefront of Mayfield's continued development as an NFL quarterback.

While Mayfield pointed toward the constant focus on his footwork as "annoying" from Whitmer, he seems to enjoy the nuances of how Whitmer is able to coach him up to get the most and best out of him.

Mayfield no longer has the option to just toss a ball up to Mike Evans, so it will be imperative that he gets his footwork under control in order to fit balls into tighter windows to get his offensive weapons the ball. If Whitmer and Mayfield can even slightly improve this area of his game, then we could see the best version of Mayfield yet, which in turn should result in success for the offense as a whole.

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