Baker Mayfield said he’s motivated to take advantage of his time with the Buccaneers after his NFL career was in peril a year ago.
The 28-year-old quarterback — who agreed to a three-year, $100 million deal to return to Tampa Bay — explained in a press conference on Wednesday how his pregnant wife, Emily Mayfield, supported him through “dark times” while he bounced from team to team prior to landing with the Bucs.
“There were a lot of dark times that we went through to get here and to have the support I think it’s extremely important that you can have to lean on at all times,” Mayfield said. “Not that I was very good at leaning on her at all times — I carry a lot of that weight on myself — but she has always been the support piece and has always believed in me.
“[She’s] just been consistent when I show up at home, good days and bad days. She’s even-keeled even when I might need a foot right up my rear end to get going. It’s unbelievable having a support piece and to be able to see it now that we’re going to be here calling this home for the next few years and got number one on the way.
“It’s a special time, a really exciting time in our lives, but I think we’re both motivated to make the most of this opportunity because we’ve seen the darker times.”
Mayfield and his wife are expecting their first child together, a baby girl, due sometime in April.
The couple announced the beauty influencer’s pregnancy on Instagram in December.
Mayfield, the first-overall pick by the Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft, spent the first four seasons of his career with Cleveland, where he had success early in his NFL career.
He led the Browns to clinch their first playoff win in over two decades with a 48-37 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round of the 2020 postseason.
The relationship between Mayfield and the Browns eventually soured when Cleveland pursued his replacement, acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Texans a March 2022 blockbuster.
Mayfield landed with the Panthers in July 2022 after a trade from the Browns, which came four months after the quarterback initially requested a trade out of Cleveland.
Things never clicked with Carolina, and he was ultimately benched and the team released him.
He moved on to the Rams, where he filled in for an injured Matthew Stafford and showed enough life in a five-game audition to earn a one-year contract with Tampa Bay last year.
Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while helping lead the Bucs to a third straight NFC South title — winning five of their last six regular-season games — and an appearance in the NFC Divisional Round.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht made it clear that Tampa Bay is sold on Mayfield.
“He set the tone for this team with his, for lack of a better word, he’s probably, a one out of ten, he’s a ten on the pr–k scale,” Licht said during the press conference.
“Thank you. I’ll take that,” Mayfield responded.
Mayfield’s contract is worth up to $115 million in incentives and $50 million guaranteed, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Sunday.