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Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles formally named Baker Mayfield the beginning quarterback for the 2023 season. The announcement ends the battle for the No. 1 spot with Kyle Trask and begins the timer on Mayfield’s final alternative to show he is a franchise quarterback.
Since main the Browns to the divisional spherical of the 2020 playoffs, Mayfield’s profession has nosedived. He was infamously known as out by former teammate Odell Beckham Jr.’s father for his poor efficiency in 2021 and was traded to the Panthers after the season.
Final yr, he did not stick in Carolina and was reduce following Week 13. He fared higher with the Rams however was nonetheless a shell of the quarterback who led Cleveland to the postseason.
Mayfield completed final season 201-of-335 (60 p.c) for two,163 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 12 video games (10 begins).
In Tampa, he has the unenviable job of taking on for Tom Brady, who led the Bucs to a Tremendous Bowl win in 2020 and consecutive division titles in 2021 and 2022.
Regardless of the staff declining to 8-9 final season, Tampa Bay has a variety of the identical items that gained the franchise its second Tremendous Bowl. Most significantly for Mayfield, he has two excellent large receivers (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin) to make the most of.
He regarded good in Week 1 of the preseason, a lot in order that Bowles did not play him in Week 2. He performed 4 collection and was 8-of-9 for 63 yards with a landing in opposition to the Steelers.
Mayfield ought to profit from working alongside offensive coordinator Dave Canales, who performed a task in Geno Smith’s resurgence final season as Seahawks quarterbacks coach.
As Smith famously stated post-game following Seattle’s Week 1 win in opposition to Denver final yr, the league tried to jot down him off, to no avail.
Mayfield is in the same place.
Tampa Bay (+1000) has the longest odds of successful the division (per Oddschecker) and the staff has severe questions on its run manufacturing in addition to offensive line play.
The Bucs had the league’s worst dashing assault final season and have not proven any enchancment up to now through the preseason. Via two video games, Tampa Bay has 58 rush makes an attempt for 138 yards, 2.4 yards per try.
Quarterbacks Kyle Trask and John Wolford have been sacked seven occasions. Final yr, the road struggled to guard Brady, most notably in Tampa’s wildcard loss to Dallas when Brady was pressured on 26.5 p.c of his dropbacks regardless of the Cowboys solely blitzing on six (8.8 p.c) of Brady’s dropbacks. (h/t Professional Soccer Focus)
Per information from PFF, Mayfield was pressured on 117 dropbacks final season and was 32-of-71 (45.1 p.c) for 449 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions with 36 sacks. Amongst quarterbacks with at the least 100 dropbacks in 2022, his sack fee (30.8 p.c) was the best within the league regardless of Mayfield averaging the fourth-most time to throw (3.92 seconds) when pressured. Not solely is Mayfield making an attempt to maintain the Bucs atop the NFC South however he is additionally enjoying for his future as a starter within the league. That is rather a lot to placed on Mayfield’s plate, not that it is overseas to him. He is aware of stress. This season, nevertheless, he’ll need to be rather a lot higher beneath it.
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