The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2023 NFL season looking to prove the world wrong. The general perception of the team has shifted since legendary quarterback Tom Brady called it a career this summer. As a result, many are writing the Buccaneers off and expecting them to take a step back.
However, this narrative doesn't work for this Tampa team. It especially doesn't work for the man who will take Brady's place as the starting quarterback in 2023, Baker Mayfield. Mayfield still sees potential in Tampa, even without one of the game's greatest players.
“The key pieces that were a huge part of that Super Bowl run, and their success recently, they’re all still here,” Mayfield told the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s a different hunger because, unfortunately, the narrative is that Tom’s gone and we suck.”
And Mayfield isn't wrong. Key figures from the 2021 Super Bowl-winning team such as Devin White, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Shaquil Barrett are still on this team. As is star wide receiver Mike Evans, though his contract situation is worth keeping in mind.
That hasn't stopped pundits and fans alike from doubting this team. In fact, many across the game believe the Buccaneers could finish near the bottom of the league this season. All that does is serve to motivate Tampa Bay, according to Mayfield.
“That’s fortunate for us, because that makes our guys have a different type of motivation they might have not had recently,” Mayfield told the Tampa Bay Times. “It puts them into a different level of competition and trying to prove that our locker room is more than capable of keeping that success.”
Mayfield and the Buccaneers will get their first opportunity to prove people wrong on Sunday. Tampa Bay kicks off their 2023 regular season by hitting the road to face the Minnesota Vikings.