Key Thoughts from Baker Mayfield’s Introductory Press Conference

Baker Mayfield is officially Tampa Bay-bound. Mayfield, the former Rams’ signal-caller, signed his contract with the Buccaneers on Monday. Mayfield will compete with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask for the team’s starting role in 2023. Here are a few things that stood out from Mayfield’ introductory press conference at the AdventHealth Training Center:

1) When asked about his decision-making in free agency, Mayfield explained why he ultimately chose to sign with Tampa Bay. Being a part of a club that “knows how to win,” became the attributing factor.

“For me, [I was] honestly just trying to stay patient with it. I think as everybody else was thinking, it was kind of a domino effect with the quarterback market right now. I was just trying to wait and be patient and see what the best fit would be. With an organization like this, that has had success for a while, and in recent years as well – it was important to me to be in a place that’s stable and knows how to win, knows how to do it properly. I’ve gotten to see different things from my journey that is not exactly how I drew it up. It’s helped along the way, especially in making a decision like this. I want to go somewhere where we can win right away, and this is that place.”

2) Mayfield officially signed with the Bucs on Monday morning and expressed his impression of the team’s new offensive coordinator, Dave Canales. He shared his excitement to work with a coach who will strive to mold the offensive system around players’ skillsets, maximizing individual strengths.

“In my short term of knowing Dave so far, just realizing who he is, how he’s going to tailor the offense to his playmakers – to me, that speaks volumes. You find a lot of guys that want to just run their system without really trying to play to the attributes of their players and that’s not Dave. I’m excited about it – he’s eager to see how his philosophy is going to affect the guys around here and that’s the best part about it. This is the time for growth and to learn what type of team you’re going to be – then when you put the pads on, it really comes to fruition. I’m excited and he’s open-minded as well.”

3) Consistency is what players aim to achieve on the gridiron and Mayfield candidly assessed his own career journey and untapped potential. He is eager to get to work in Tampa Bay and will work towards “stability.”

“I think any time you look at some of the quarterbacks that have had a lot of success, you look at the stability they’ve…