After his comments last week about Tom Brady bringing a stressful environment to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quarterback Baker Mayfield clarified what he meant.
He said his comments were taken out of context and he was actually trying to compliment the NFL great.
“I think a lot of that got taken out of context, and none of it was personal by any means,” Mayfield said, per ESPN Jenna Laine. “It’s just what he demanded of the guys, and that’s the aura of Tom Brady. And that’s what he did to bring a championship here.
“Nothing personal, but yeah, talking before the game, he’s obviously happy for me and he knows the guys, so he knows how much I enjoy throwing to Mike [Evans] and Chris [Godwin] [because] he got to do the same. It’s fun to be able to talk about the same experience with a guy like that.”
In an appearance on Casa De Klub last week, Mayfield said that he thought “everybody was pretty stressed out” when Brady was under center in Tampa.
“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 responded to Mayfield’s comments during Fox’s broadcast of the Bucs’ matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings,” Brady said. “There was the mindset of a champion that I took to work every day. This wasn’t daycare. If I wanted to have fun, I’d go to Disneyland with my kids.”
Every quarterback has a different approach to building chemistry and rapport with teammates, and it seems that’s the case for Brady and Mayfield.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, won his final ring with the Bucs in 2020. Mayfield is trying to repeat that success, and he’s off to a decent start.
In his first season as Tampa Bay’s starter a year ago, he had 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, leading the Buccaneers to the playoffs where they beat the Eagles to reach the divisional round.
Tampa Bay has put together a strong start to the season in 2024, going 3-1 through its first four games with big wins over the Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders and Eagles.
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