The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are gearing up for a 2025 season filled with expectations after an injury-riddled 2024 campaign that still resulted in an NFC South division title and playoff berth. Baker Mayfield has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL for the last couple of years, showcasing the blend of speed, downfield accuracy, and confidence that once allowed him to be drafted number one overall.
Recently, Mayfield spoke on Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson, who figures to play a role for the team in the upcoming season, and also offered him some friendly advice.
“Baker Mayfield says rookie Tez Johnson is ‘shifty' but warned him not to try to make more than one guy miss in the open field. ‘You’d better get down. You’re still the smallest guy in the NFL,' he said,” reported Greg Auman of FOX on X, formerly Twitter.
Indeed, Johnson's thin frame will make it especially important that he avoid hits whenever possible and get down or out of bounce instead of trying to churn for an extra yard or two.
Johnson joins fellow rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who was drafted in the first round out of Ohio State, to give Mayfield some more targets to find down the field, in addition to veterans like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Can the Buccaneers compete?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't made it out of the divisional round of the playoffs since their Super Bowl back in 2020, when Tom Brady was at the helm.
However, Tampa Bay has been knocking on the door of contention for the last couple of years, and the fact that they were able to still make the postseason last year despite Godwin and multiple other key players getting injured throughout the season says a lot about Mayfield's talent and leadership ability.
Now, with Egbuka, Johnson, and other talented youngsters in the mix, the Buccaneers are hoping that 2025 is the year that they take the next step and truly enter the contender conversation in the NFL.
The Buccaneers will kick off their season on September 7 on the road against the divisional rival Atlanta Falcons.
