For a quarterback who’s always been known to have a chip on his shoulder, one would think quarterback Baker Mayfield would take the criticism of the Bucs – both before he signed with the team and after – on a personal level. On the contrary, Mayfield wouldn’t even know about it unless you said it to him in a press conference.

Baker Mayfield has been one of the most discussed quarterbacks for a variety of years – from his Heisman Trophy season at Oklahoma, being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and starring in a number of commercials that millions of football fans see on their screen every time they watch a game. But outside of the commercials, that’s as far as the outside noise goes for him.

Has Baker Mayfield Turned Over A New Leaf?

So any downplaying of the Bucs this year has not reached Baker Mayfield’s desk. He’s just marching to the beat of his own drum.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I have been off social media for almost two years now,” Baker Mayfield said. “I am wired different. I don’t need anyone on the outside to tell me what I can or can’t do. I know what I am capable of. Yeah, I mean I got hurt in Cleveland. That is why my run ended there. Then last year, it was what it was in Carolina. Everything happens for a reason. I am here now, and I am ready to go.

“This team, you talk about skeptics and what the narrative is around this team, I think it speaks to our veterans and the people that were apart of the run to the Super Bowl and the success that they have had recently, more so than me.”

And even though he’s mostly changed. A tiger doesn’t always change its stripes.

“I will always have a chip on my shoulder,” Mayfield said. “That is how I approach every day, but it is good to be around a room and a group who has had that success and continues to have that mentality as well. It is a good fit, but we are going to write our own story. You cannot carry on anything from the past years. You might internalize and think about it, but nothing translates to the next year.”

How Are The Bucs Reacting To The Predictions Of A Lowly Season?

Baker Mayfield has clearly portrayed that he is ignoring any of the detractors from the outside. But not everyone else does that. Cornerback Carlton Davis III has gone on record when he spoke with Tyler Dunne from GoLongTD.com, saying that the critics and naysayers motivate him.

Bucs CBs Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We’re about to do it to ‘em,” Davis told Dunne. “Anybody who feels we’ve lost Tom [Brady] — and lost something — is going to be in for a rude awakening. A rude awakening. Tom was a great addition for us, but obviously it’s a team sport. Obviously, you need components to be successful. We still have those components. And I’m only getting better.”

Chris Godwin also iterated on the Rich Eisen Show that talk is cheap. It sounds like each Bucs player has their own way of getting themselves going.

Put safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in the camp of Mayfield, who mentioned that he’s only worried about areas of the game that he has a hand in.

“I can only control what I can control,” Winfield said. “Only thing I focus on is what is in our four walls, so I don’t look for the media to tell us what we are rankings-wise. Teams are going to have to come play us. We’ll just see how it is come game time.”

Baker Mayfield’s Favorite Part Of Training Camp

Bucs WR Mike Evans, OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This is the first training camp where Baker Mayfield gets to face the Bucs’ defense on a daily basis. Already we’ve seen much more 11-on-11 matchups and two-minute drill situations than in camp practices before. The critical thinking nature of it has been the best part of each practice.

“That is what Coach [Todd] Bowles does such a good job of,” Mayfield said. “You can script practices. You can do all these things, but is that really doing you any good? When you get into a game you can have transitional periods, you can have turnovers, and things like that. You can be thrown into different situations that you are not going to be in control of, so you have to be able to react. That makes people start having to critically think on the field, eliminating, and being able to process information quicker.

“I enjoy that a lot. We are on day two and we are already doing our two-minute drill and stuff like that. It is good to see, especially going up against our defense. They have so many different packages, blitzes, and looks that we have to adapt and be ready for.”