Why Bruce Arians knew Baker Mayfield would succeed with Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers senior advisor Bruce Arians served as an analyst for CBS in 2018 and learned plenty about quarterback Baker Mayfield when Mayfield was a rookie with the Cleveland Browns that season. 

"Oh, I love Baker," Arians explained during an appearance on Tampa Bay sports radio station WDAE, per the JoeBucsFan website. "I had a great grade on him coming out of the draft. When I was with CBS [TV], I did a couple of Cleveland games and I was amazed at how much that locker room loved their quarterback. And I knew once he got here — the talent’s there, we knew that — just put him in the right fit. And when he got put on this football team with these receivers and offensive line, it was a great fit." 

The beginning of the end of Mayfield's Browns career was sparked by his playing through a serious injury to his non-throwing shoulder during the 2021 season. Cleveland then acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022, and the Browns shipped Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers later that summer. 

Shortly after Mayfield signed a one-year "prove it" contract with the Buccaneers last offseason, Arians praised the 28-year-old's "moxie." Following Tampa Bay's 32-9 wild-card playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles in January, Arians noted how Mayfield possessed the "charisma" and "fire" needed to replace a living legend such as Tom Brady. 

Brady retired after featuring for the Buccaneers from 2020 through the 2022 campaign. 

"I thought (head coach Todd Bowles) did an outstanding coaching job this season with a new coordinator, new play-caller, new quarterback and winning the division and getting us back in the playoffs," Arians added. "The Bucs are the only NFC team to be in the playoffs four straight years now. So that’s a lot." 

Arians previously left little doubt he's convinced starters such as Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans will spend at least one more season with the Buccaneers even though they're set to reach free agency this offseason. The deadline for teams to use their franchise tags is March 5, so general manager Jason Licht has some time to sign either Mayfield or Evans to a deal that would leave the tag open for the other.