Baker Mayfield’s Bucs
September 6th, 2026
New big dog.
The past couple of years it was clear that the Bucs locker room was prowled by two legendary veterans: Mike Evans and Lavonte David.
Oh, Baker Mayfield was there, too. But even he seemed to defer to David. And while Evans was mostly a quiet guy, most of the players would step to the side when Evans had something to say.
Respect.
But now, David and Evans are gone. David is retired and Evans bolted to San Francisco.
So the Bucs are now Baker Mayfield’s team. And from the words of Bucs coach Todd Bowles recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio, there is no room that Mayfield is not welcome in, offensive or defensive position rooms.
“He’s so special,” Bowles said of Mayfield’s leadership. “He spends time with the defense as well as the offense and different position groups, all the way around.
“You can really appreciate that about him. He has a way of getting everybody going without getting on their nerves — and he has a way of getting on people’s nerves and getting them going. But he has a good feel for both [sides of the line of scrimmage].
He’s great to be around. He’s an outstanding leader. He’s the pulse of our offense.”
How important is Mayfield to the Bucs? Without Mayfield’s presence in the locker room, Bowles said, the Bucs are limited.
“You know, I don’t think we can go far without him,” Bowles said.
That’s saying a lot. Even though Bowles runs the defense, he seems to believe that it’s not the defense but Mayfield and his intangibles that can carry the Bucs far.