By – Bucs Report Special to Sports Talk Florida
The Buccaneers quarterback competition is in full swing as training camp is underway for the Pewter Pirates. Following Thursday’s practice quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke with the media.
The Buccaneers are looking to replace recently retired quarterback Tom Brady with either Mayfield or third-year quarterback Kyle Trask. Mayfield is presumed the favorite to win the job, and knows this team’s success in 2023 will depend on the play of the quarterback.
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The opinions of most talking heads about Mayfield haven’t been good. Mayfield addressed this.
“I don’t need anyone on the outside to tell me what I can or can’t do,” Mayfield said via buccaneers.com. “I know what I am capable of. Yeah, I mean I got hurt in Cleveland. That is why my run ended there. Then last year, it was what it was in Carolina. Everything happens for a reason. I am here now, and I am ready to go. This team, you talk about skeptics and what the narrative is around this team, I think it speaks to our veterans and the people that were a part of the run to the Super Bowl and the success that they have had recently, more so than me. I will always have a chip on my shoulder. That is how I approach every day, but it is good to be around a room and a group who has had that success and continues to have that mentality as well. It is a good fit, but we are going to write our own story. You cannot carry on anything from the past years. You might internalize and think about it, but nothing translates to the next year.”
Mayfield’s last few seasons haven’t been what he’s capable of. He’s had plenty of chances and for several reasons it hasn’t worked out for him. Mayfield looks at his latest chance with the Buccaneers as a chance to prove the doubters wrong.