Shaun King: Baker Mayfield Lost Edge After Early-Season Success
Baker Mayfield enjoys shutting up his critics.
But when they are silenced? That’s when ex-Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King gets concerned.
Mayfield had a terrific start to the 2025 campaign before struggling down the stretch, and King believes Mayfield lost his edge after the early success.
“Baker Mayfield is a professional athlete that needs a persistent, high-disciplined coach at all times,” said King, a second-round pick of the Buccaneers in 1999 who played five seasons with the team. “Baker is better when he’s being held accountable every day, and he feels like his back is against the wall, that nobody believes in him. That Baker is a really good player. The minute that Baker has a little success – people started talking about how he was the leader in the clubhouse for MVP – then the reckless, careless Baker surfaces.”
Mayfield shot to the top of the MVP race after the Buccaneers beat the 49ers on Oct. 12. Tampa Bay was 5-1 at the time and Mayfield had a passer rating of 108.5 with 12 touchdown passes against one interception.
The Bucs went 3-8 the rest of the way and Mayfield had a passer rating of 80.6 with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
“I’ll never forget: There was this press conference and it was probably Week 5 or 6, and he was rolling,” King said. “He said, ‘Well, when I was in Cleveland and I used to celebrate, they would call me immature. Now when I do it, I’ve got moxie.” I said, ‘Ohhhh, hell.’
“He’s been throwing picks ever since.”
King said Mayfield has done well using doubt as motivation during his career, but must find a way to channel it during the good times.
“Some of those guys, they play better when they don’t feel like everything is going in their favor, for whatever reason,” King said. “At his best, I think he’s one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the National Football League. He played at that level the previous two years. He just got a little out of (his zone).”
King: Todd Bowles deserved to keep job
Todd Bowles was under fire after the late-season fade, but King believes the Buccaneers made the right choice in retaining him based on the overall body of work.
“I noticed a thing with Todd,” King said. “He never gets any credit. Ever since he’s gotten the job, the narrative around him is: that’s not good enough. This is the first year they haven’t made the playoffs since he took over. This is the first year they haven’t won the division since he took over. It’s not like they haven’t been successful. But nothing he seems to be doing is enough.
“A lot of pressure in the upcoming year, but I did not think moving on from Todd Bowles would have been the right move.”
King believes the staff changes Bowles made this offseason could be a big benefit.
“One of the things with getting the job was keeping a lot of Bruce (Arians’) assistants,” King said. “It looks like there are some changes going on there, so it’s the first time we’ll see him get his group of guys in totality.”
King said GM Jason Licht needs to do a better job of upgrading the defensive personnel this offseason to maximize Bowles’ game-planning ability.
“Schematically, I like him,” King said. “I just don’t think we have the personnel right now to do what he wants to do. We’ve got one of the most mediocre secondary groups in the entire league, in my opinion. I was appalled at the amount of breakdowns we had, specifically late in games. Guys weren’t covering, guys weren’t contesting throws.
“When you want to be aggressive, play man and disguise, your secondary has to be of high intelligence and high in talent. I don’t think he had that. We’ll see if they get it fixed. I love Todd and I hope he gets it fixed. I hope it goes well this year, but it’s a lot of pressure.”
King: Hard to find great OCs year after year
The Buccaneers are looking for a new offensive coordinator after firing Josh Grizzard. King wasn’t surprised at the step back this season after Dave Canales and Liam Coen left the previous two years for head coaching hires.
“Liam Coen and Dave Canales, they made great hires with those two guys,” King said. “But to get it right every time, now we’re starting to go against the percentages.”
King believes the tweaks to the offense every year is taking a toll on Mayfield and the rest of the players.
“It’s tough on the quarterback, it’s tough on the coordinator, it’s tough on the receivers,” King said. “Once you get comfortable in the system and you’re starting to figure it out, you have to go with a new guy. And even if the new guy is not completely blowing the previous system up, he still has nuance in what he wants it to look like.”
