Florida – One exuberant moment between Baker Mayfield, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Nick Leverett, his backup centre, created a treasured morning ritual that would later become a head-butt, a sign of friendship for the first-year teammates.
Leverett compared it to giving sweets to a child. “It was the best thing.” The two locked eyes as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” blasted over the Raymond James Stadium speakers during the third preseason game, just after Mayfield was selected as the first-day starter.
After a brief handshake, the 6-foot-1 Mayfield launched himself at the 6-4 Leverett, causing their helmets to collide with a loud “Pow!” Since his undergraduate days at Oklahoma, Mayfield has head-butted any willing teammates.
“Nick is sick in the head, just like me,” he added. “We both enjoy it.” And in Leverett, who has just one rule for the move: “don’t come in soft,” Mayfield has met his match. Even without helmets, they perform it several times during a game.
Mayfield remarked, “He adds a little punch to the party.” “It’s getting to the point where you might have to avoid him when doing it.” Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, will likely need a replacement, as Tampa Bay knew going into the summer. On February 1st, Brady, at 45, formally retired, and the search for a legend’s replacement started.
“It seems like everything I saw on Twitter was like, ‘Oh, the Bucs are going to get a quarterback in the draft or something,'” commented left tackle Tristan Wirfs. On the first day of free agency, Tampa signed Mayfield to take the torch instead.
“I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m playing with Bake and he’s a dawg,'” Wirfs recalled. “Just give us some time to get stuff rolling, to feel confident.” The Bucs (9-8) were preseason favourites to make the playoffs (16%), but they outperformed their projected record of 8-9 from 2022, won the NFC South for the third time in a row, and were invited to the postseason for the fourth time.
Linebacker Devin White said of Mayfield, “He’s a guy that wants to win, and he had something to prove.” “I believe this team has that mindset. Before this season began, no one had faith in us.”