Baker Mayfield has never had any real chance of escaping the Tom Brady comparisons in Tampa Bay. Brady left the Buccaneers after the 2022 season as a seven-time Super Bowl champion, and Mayfield arrived the following year with the unenviable job of taking over at quarterback.

More than three years later, Mayfield still understands why people make the comparison. But speaking to former Buccaneers stars Jarvis Landry and Leonard Fournette on 4th & South, he made it clear that trying to become the next Brady was never on his agenda.

“I’ve always been me,” he said. “You can never replace Tom Brady’s shoes. I don’t care who you are. Only thing I can do is come in and be the best version of me. And that’s talking s–t, making sure that I lead in the way I know how to lead and just be myself. Not try and do it the way he did, ’cause, I mean, he was 40 something at that stage. I mean he probably knew what a defense was doing before they broke the huddle.

The standard Brady left behind was enormous. He spent three seasons with Tampa Bay, winning Super Bowl LV in his first year with the franchise and taking the Buccaneers to the playoffs in every single season. Anybody who replaced Brady would be subjected to the same level of scrutiny that Mayfield faced.

Get The Huddle Newsletter. The day's biggest NFL stories — rivalries, matchups, expert analysis, power rankings, and insider draft news.

Mayfield might not have been perceived as a franchise quarterback when the Buccaneers first signed him. It was foolish to expect him to do what Brady did, and Mayfield came to Tampa Bay after stints at Cleveland, Carolina, and Los Angeles. The quarterback was initially signed for only one year. But after debuting with a 9-8 record as a Buccaneer, Mayfield earned his place.

Today, the Bucs have been to two postseasons with him as the starting quarterback.

So when the Brady comparisons come up, Mayfield is not really engaging with them. He has his own resume to point to now, and that seems to be exactly where his head is at.

He is locked into a long-term three-year, $100 million contract that keeps him in Tampa Bay through the 2026 season. Mayfield’s job is to build something of his own, and after more than three seasons in the role, he seems comfortable with that distinction. He is hoping to sign a new extension with the Buccaneers, although contract negotiations have been “disappointing” for him. However, Mayfield definitely deserves to be the franchise quarterback he knows he can be for Tampa Bay.