(Tampa) Baker Mayfield has been selected as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, ending the competition for Tom Brady’s successor.
The No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft was preferred over third-year veteran Kyle Trask, a 2021 second-round pick who has spent the past two seasons as third quarterback behind Brady and Blaine Gabbert.
Mayfield, who is on his fourth team since July 2022, signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Bucs after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns. Last year, he made six starts for the Carolina Panthers and four more with the Los Angeles Rams, helping those teams go 2-8 combined.
The Buccaneers will play their first regular game on September 10 against the Vikings in Minnesota.
Mayfield played a quarter and a half in the Buccaneers’ first preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, completing eight passes on nine attempts and recording 63 yards and a touchdown pass. He didn’t play Saturday against the New York Jets, when Trask started and played the majority of the game after backup John Wolford was injured.
In 69 NFL starts, Mayfield helped his team go 31-38. He had 16,288 yards and threw 102 touchdowns and 64 interceptions.
