TAMPA, Fla. — Quarterback Baker Mayfield may have looked like he was trying to carry the hopes of a very depleted Tampa Bay Buccaneers baseball club when he made his epic 15-yard run on third-and-14 in Week 6 of their 30-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Moments before that play, it was announced that rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, their top target this season, was doubtful of returning with a hamstring injury, now leaving him without the team's top four receivers, with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan out due to injuries.
But when asked in his postgame news conference if he felt like he was carrying more of a load in that moment, he said, “No,” and instead used it as an opportunity to build up guys who stepped up, like rookie receiver Tez Johnson and second-year receiver Kameron Johnson, who caught their first career touchdowns in that game.
“I really genuinely trust the guys that are there,” Mayfield said. “They're ready. The guys are on the same page and that's real. I trust these guys, even though some of them may not have played much.”
One look into Mayfield's eyes and you can tell he is sincere in his beliefs. And then there's a guy like Sterling Shepard, Mayfield's former Oklahoma teammate, who thought his career was over last year before Mayfield lured him away from “leave daddy duty” to become one of Mayfield's most reliable weapons this season. He proved it when he caught the game-tying touchdown in the last-minute Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Now, the Bucs (5-1) hit the road to take on the Detroit Lions (4-2) on “Monday Night Football” (7 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), where Mayfield will once again try to help lead a team ravaged by injuries. In short, they will be without Godwin (fibula) and McMillan (neck), and they will also be without standout second-year running back Bucky Irving (shoulder/foot).
There is some reason for optimism, however, as Evans is likely to play, while Egbuka “has a real chance” to be on the field, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
“I believe in our team,” Mayfield said. “I've said it since training camp: I like the young people we have, I like the people we have. Obviously, it's never ideal when you have to move people around all the time, don't get me wrong, but nobody cares. Nobody feels bad for you, so you have to find a way to make it work.”
When Mayfield first arrived in Tampa Bay following Tom Brady's retirement in 2023, he was on a one-year contract with a base salary of $4 million, where he had to prove his worth.
The move was to be surrounded by a talented supporting cast, where he wouldn't have to be the hero. But he has led his team to the postseason and has broken career highs in each of the last two years, including throwing for 41 touchdowns last season. He earned a new three-year, $100 million contract extension in 2024 and was rewarded with an additional $30 million guaranteed for 2026 in July.
Now, for the third straight year, Mayfield has found a way to once again elevate his game. And if anything, that Week 6 fight showed a key point of emphasis he's tried to convey to his team: “You don't have to have the perfect game when all your guys are fighting each other and are on the same page.”
“I mean, everyone knows Baker is playing at an unbelievable level right now,” Kameron Johnson said. “So, I mean, it doesn't matter who's out there. Any Sunday, when Baker Mayfield is out there, there's a chance to win. And he's playing at an unbelievable MVP level right now.”
When training camp began, Tez Johnson, a seventh-round pick out of Oregon, said he felt like “bullets were flying.” The competition was intense and the group was easily the deepest position group in the field.
Mayfield took him aside and told him, “Just calm down. You'll get to it,” Johnson recalled.
Mayfield then invited him to watch a movie together at 5 a.m.
“He was here at 4:30,” Johnson said. “He just gave me advice on how the league works and how I should think about certain routes and that let me know, 'OK, he believes in me, so I'm going to do my best to go out there and perform for him.'”
Two plays after Mayfield's scramble, Johnson was supposed to cross the field on second-and-11 from the San Francisco 45-yard line, but when he saw a gap in the defense, he waved his arm to get Mayfield's attention and turned it into an out route.
Mayfield saw it and threw it deep as Johnson ran into the end zone, where he scored with a celebration.
“A good fit on his part,” Mayfield said. “The safety is waiting for him on the other side, so he just takes it over the middle. It's not necessarily a broken coverage, they had it covered well if you run the drawings on the paper, but Tez makes an adjustment on the fly, that's huge for a rookie to be able to do, and do it with confidence in the middle of a game like that, especially at that moment.”
Mayfield said that's part of what leadership means to him.
“You have to know your job and do it well, but you also have to empower the guys so they feel like they can go above and beyond,” Mayfield said. “And that's a big leadership thing, instilling confidence. And it's not fake confidence. It's making sure that they really have it under control, and then at that point they realize it and then they take it on their own. So those guys have done a good job and now we just trust them.”
Kameron Johnson was an undrafted free agent in 2024 and missed a lot of practice time this summer due to injuries, but he found his way onto the roster after showing something as a punt and kick returner in his only preseason game.
When his number was called, he converted his first goal of the season into a 34-yard touchdown.
“Am I that open? I was shocked,” said Johnson, who had four receptions for 64 yards. “I saw the safety press down [tight end Cade Otton]. I thought he was going to leave then. Lo and behold, he never left, and I was just running and I thought, 'Oh, God, let me see if Baker makes eye contact with me.' It was just wide open. “It was an easy, walk-on touchdown.”
Wide receivers coach Bryan McLendon said that regardless of who Mayfield targets, his success is a function of him holding everyone to the same standard as himself.
“That's what's been a really good thing right now: It shows the person he is, the player he is, the leader he is, the franchise guy he is. I could go on and on about what he means to us,” McLendon said. “The most important thing is the confidence he shows and everyone who is on the field with him. [are like]”Hey, you do your job, I'll do mine and let's go out and see what happens.”
