The 2023 season was a resurgent one for Baker Mayfield. He nearly enjoyed career highs across the board and took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC divisional round. Unfortunately, despite Mayfield’s best efforts on a revitalized and confident team, the Buccaneers’ ride ends in the NFL’s quarterfinals after losing to the ascending Detroit Lions.
This is a grim reality that isn’t sitting well with Mayfield.
After the Buccaneers’ tough loss, Mayfield unsurprisingly equated Tampa Bay’s season concluding to having his heart ripped out. Given Mayfield’s reputation as a fiery competitor, you feel badly for him, but don’t expect any less. This is how an NFL player should react to postseason heartbreak:
“It sucks. I feel like my heart just got ripped out.” #nflnetwork
-Baker Mayfield— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) January 21, 2024
The Buccaneers now enter an offseason rife with pivotal roster decisions on both sides of the ball. It seems apparent that Mayfield, at the very least, has earned another season to build on his tremendous first-year success with Tampa Bay.