Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is surprisingly rooting for Purdue in the Purdue-Iowa matchup today. Mayfield is choosing Purdue in support of teammate Tristan Wirfs, in an ironic twist since Wirfs played for Iowa.
During a pregame show before the Big Ten matchup, Mayfield explained why he's upset with Iowa. “This is personal for me. They didn’t even put my guy Tristan Wirfs’ jersey up at the Iowa University. That guy’s an all-pro. They gotta put it up, respect your guy,” via Trevor Sikkema of PFF.
Baker putting on for Tampa in his Gameday picks
“This is personal for me. They didn’t even put my guy Tristan Wirfs’ jersey up at Iowa…. That guy’s an all-pro. They gotta put it up” pic.twitter.com/zpQqKfxVcJ
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) October 7, 2023
Iowa football is favored by -2.5 points over Purdue. Though Mayfield will be pulling for the Boilermakers, they come into this game with just a 2-3 record while Iowa has a 4-1 record.
Mayfield's reasoning should only win him more points in the locker room, especially amongst the guys blocking for him. On his fourth team, Mayfield seems like he's found a place where he belongs thanks to his camaraderie and support for his teammates. It's paid off for him on the field too as he's only been sacked four times this season.
Baker Mayfield's message will hopefully be a call out to Iowa football to honor Tristan Wirfs. The 2020 Bucs first round pick is not only a Super Bowl champion and a first-team All Pro as Mayfield points out, but one of the best players to come out of Iowa in recent years. During his time with the Hawkeyes, was a first-team All-American, first team Big Ten and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year all in his senior season.