Buccaneers’ Lavonte David says Baker Mayfield is ‘great for our locker room,’ expects intense QB competition

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are entering a new era, as Tom Brady is no longer their starting quarterback after retiring for the second time in two years. The new man under center will either be former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield or former second-round pick Kyle Trask.

Mayfield is viewed as the leader in this quarterback competition, and he is expected to start for his second NFC South team in as many years. Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David said Mayfield has been great for the Tampa Bay locker room thus far. 

“Obviously, Baker, already he’s been ‘the guy’ and, you know, he’s expected to live up to what everybody expected him to be,” David said during an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, per joebucsfan.com. “Baker is great for our locker room. I like the way Baker carries himself coming in with a ready-to-work mentality. Everybody loves him already and the way he approaches practice is great to see. So there’s definitely some great things to see out of Baker. He’s a guy who’s done it before — took his team to the playoffs and done some great things so far. So the competition with those guys is going to be very, very competitive, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

While Mayfield’s career has been a bit up-and-down as of late, there’s no question he’s one of the most competitive signal-callers in the NFL. After his release from the Carolina Panthers last year, he booked a flight to Los Angeles before even knowing where he was going to play next — operating off of a feeling the Rams would claim him. The Rams did indeed claim him, and just days later, Mayfield led Los Angeles on a 98-yard game-winning drive against the Las Vegas Raiders in prime time. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that 98-yard drive was the longest go-ahead touchdown drive that began in the final two minutes over the last 45 seasons.

In 12 total games played last season, Mayfield went 2-8 as the starter while averaging 180.3 passing yards per game with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Just 28, Mayfield has another chance to prove he’s a legitimate starting quarterback.