Though the best part of the campaign is still upon us, it’s safe to say Baker Mayfield‘s redemption year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is already one of the biggest stories of the 2023 NFL season.
At 28, Mayfield found at the Bucs the perfect place to get his career back on track, proving why he entered the league as a first-overall pick in 2018. Back in March, his image was quite different, which is why a one-year deal was the best he could get. Now, his stock has significantly risen, and former Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner is pushing for Mayfield to get a bigger contract.
“There is so many good things that Baker is doing. I love it, and love watching it. Got thrown away a little bit by the last couple teams he was on, got a bad rap I thought in Cleveland. Should probably still be in Cleveland, he’d have that team in the playoffs as well. But I love that he bounces back he’s got great confidence in himself, believes in himself and it showed this year, and I hope it turns into a big contract,” Warner said, via Sports Illustrated.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has already echoed that sentiment, which is also what pretty much everyone around the league think. After a tough 2022 season that threatened to ruin his reputation, Mayfield came back with impressive performances that saw him set career-highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and completion rate.
Warner, Mayfield are connected by a redemption story
Before signing for the Bucs, Mayfield came from a tough breakup with the Browns that was followed by an unsuccessful stint with the Panthers and a short time with the Rams to finish the season as Matthew Stafford got injured. Against all odds, he led the Buccaneers to another division title and a playoff upset against the Eagles, before falling to the Rams in the divisional round.
Warner may feel identified with Mayfield’s underdog story in 2023, since he knows a thing or two about proving people wrong. After going undrafted in 1994, Warner had to wait for four years to win a place in the NFL. In one of the biggest underdog stories in sports history — which even inspired to make a movie about it — Warner went on to win a Super Bowl in his first season as the Rams’ starter in 1999.
Mayfield hasn’t gone so far yet, but his recent campaign is inspiring regardless. In other circumstances, the Bucs would have probably gone for another option to replace Tom Brady.
Mayfield was seen as a cheap alternative useful to get through 2023, but it turned out to be much better than that. Now, Tampa Bay is expected to do whatever it takes to keep him on board. And Mayfield is in contention for the Comeback Player of the Year award for his impressive resurgence.