When seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL in February 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quickly found their replacement a month later, signing then-free agent Baker Mayfield to a one-year deal.
Mayfield was replacing a legend in Brady, a monumental task that comes with a variety of pressures. But the organization had one simple request for Mayfield: Be yourself.
And, as Mayfield explained during a recent appearance on the Case de Klub podcast with former MLB pitcher Corey Kluber and former college pitcher Tyler Casagrande, being himself was a whole different experience for the Buccaneers, who were beginning to feel the effects of Brady's intensity.
"The building was a little bit different with Tom in there," Mayfield said. "Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out.
"They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun."
Brady, arguably the game's greatest quarterback of all time, came from the militaristic New England Patriots operation, which generated six Super Bowl victories but did so in a no-nonsense manner.
And by the time he arrived in Tampa Bay as a 42-year-old QB, Brady had seen enough to know what works for him and possessed the latitude to make those decisions on the field.
Mayfeld didn't deny that Brady was "calling the shots" for the Buccaneers, saying that he was "doing a lot of checks."
Mayfield, asked to tell the "craziest Brady story" he'd ever heard, explained just how much authority Brady had within the Buccaneers' offense during his three-year tenure in Tampa.
"You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet," Mayfield said.
"There were a lot of mind games going on."
It's hard to argue with the methods of a player who won more championships than any other in pro football history. But the Buccaneers are seemingly playing with more joy—and aren't any worse for the wear because of it. The club is coming off of an NFC South divisional title and playoff victory in 2023 and is off to a 2–0 start in '24.
Tampa Bay takes on the Denver Broncos at home in Week 3 on Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Baker Mayfield Says Buccaneers Were 'Stressed Out' During Tom Brady's Tenure.
