Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Says He Won't Try to Be Tom Brady: 'I'm Going to Be Me'

Baker Mayfield is officially a Buccaneer, and he enters the 2023 campaign with significant shoes to fill following three seasons of Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.

While Mayfield knows there will be high expectations of him, the 2018 first overall pick told reporters Monday that he's "never going to be Tom Brady," per ProFootballTalk's Myles Simmons:

"Listen, I'm never going to be Tom Brady. There's a reason why he's won so many Super Bowls. He's the greatest of all time—there's no doubt about that. I'm not going to try to be Tom. I'm going to be me. That's what's gotten me to this point. We're going to do it differently.

"But that's what makes this league so special. Everybody puts their own touch on it. It's an honor to follow up somebody like that. And I'm definitely—the people that played with him around here, I'm going to pick their brains for things he did, there's no doubt about that. So, I'm excited."

Mayfield reiterated those comments during an appearance on NFL Now on Monday:

"I'm not Tom. I'm not going to try and be Tom. He's the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, and he deserves that recognition. I'm going to be myself, and Tom was himself. I think all the greats try and do it their own way.

"I respect everything he did, and obviously people around here have worked with him, so I'm going to try and pick their brain about how he did it, how he operated and certain things that were the difference-makers and who he is.

"I'm excited about it. Those are big shoes to fill, but I'm just going to try and wear my own."

The Buccaneers and Mayfield agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $8.5 million on March 15, and he officially put pen to paper on Monday.

"Hey, Bucs fans, Baker Mayfield here. Just signed the contract, ready to get to work," Mayfield said in a video posted to Twitter. "Happy to be here. Let's get it!"

The 27-year-old spent the 2022 season split between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams after four seasons with the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2021. In 12 games, he completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,163 yards and 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

The Buccaneers are hoping Mayfield will be better than that in 2023, though the franchise made it clear that he'll still need to compete with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job in training camp.

"It's going to be a competition," Mayfield said on NFL Now. "They're very straightforward when they tell me that it's going to be a competition between Kyle and I. And I enjoy that, and I hope Kyle does as well. Competition brings the best out of everybody. So, let's enjoy. Let's grow together. Let's push this team. We should all have the same goal in mind, and that's to win it all come February."

Even if Mayfield wins the starting job, it's still possible Trask could see the field in 2023 if his counterpart struggles.

Whoever wins the starting job will have significant pressure to lead the Bucs back to the postseason for the fourth straight season, which isn't going to be easy, as the NFC South is expected to be more competitive in 2023.