Contrary to what the Cleveland Browns had us believe once, Baker Mayfield has grown into a legit gunslinger in the NFL. And all he needed was the keys to a well-built squad like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Two straight division titles and a playoff win later, you simply can’t say Mayfield hasn’t delivered. However, stack his resume next to Tom Brady’s story, and it’s as stark as night and day.
Brady was the sixth-round afterthought who clawed his way to seven Super Bowl rings, with his last one coming in Tampa, the team Baker’s running now. In a way, Brady handed off the torch to a roster ready to roll. Even still, if you ask Erin Andrews, sideline star for FOX Sports and Brady’s colleague, it’s Baker … not Brady … who’s “America’s quarterback.”
Bold claim, to be honest. She even laughed, “I’m sure I’ll get killed for this,” on her podcast with Charissa Thompson, before explaining why she said what she said.
Erin believes Brady’s the poster boy, the Captain America-looking, six-foot-five Superman. Baker, on the other hand, doesn’t check those boxes. He’s shorter, scrappier, and thrives by firing up his teammates with that rowdy, frat-leader energy.
And that’s where Erin makes her case. To her, Mayfield is the kind of guy she could actually kick back and have a beer with.
“I was saying to my crew, Baker is America’s quarterback. Why? Because he is, I feel like, such an easy guy to cheer for. And I say this with all due respect, Tom is 6’5″, looks like Captain America out there, like a prince from a Disney film,” Erin elaborated.
“Bake is like — I got the headband on, I’m not 6’5″. He’s smacking guys around… He’s the guy that you want to go have a beer with. And not that you don’t wanna do that with TB. Because I get to do that with TB… But I feel like America roots for [Baker],” she added.
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Erin is right in saying that it is hard not to root for Mayfield. While the QB has taken some flak, he’s even admitted that during Brady’s era in Tampa, the locker room felt more stressful. That vibe has shifted a lot since he took over.
And with Mayfield still going strong year after year, now sitting at 3-1 this season, whatever he’s doing is clearly working. You have to respect him for pulling it off his own way.
And while Erin didn’t come right out and say it, we’ll go ahead and say it for her: Casually hanging out with Brady probably wouldn’t be all that fun. The guy treats his body like a temple and likely wouldn’t even order a beer… Which, let’s be honest, would take some of the fun out of the night.
