Baker Mayfield has one more chance

There's still a great quarterback in there somewhere, right? There must be.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) warms up before a preseason NFL football game against the New York Jets, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

I’m pretty sure we all thought it would come to this, but Tuesday it became official when Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles named his starting quarterback and it wasn’t Kyle Trask, despite the 64th pick in the 2021 draft completing 20 of 28 passes in last Saturday’s preseason skirmish against the Jets.

That means it’s your friend and mine, Baker Mayfield, with at least one more chance to get a big NFL career going again.

It’s not easy following a legend. 

Just as ex-Sooner basketball and baseball star Ryan Minor became the first guy to give Cal Ripken a night off after 2,632 games on a September Baltimore night almost 25 years ago, Mayfield will become the first quarterback to finally, after 23 seasons, the tuck rule and a slew of Super Bowls later, take over where Tom Brady left off.

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