Colin Cowherd calls out Baker Mayfield to retire amid QB1 battle with Kyle Trask - "You're not a franchise Quarterback"
Once upon a time, Baker Mayfield was heralded as the great savior of the Cleveland Browns. After struggling in his first two seasons, he broke out in 2020, leading them to their first playoff berth since 2002 and first playoff win since 1994.
Unfortunately, the team fell back down hard the following year and decided to replace Mayfield with the highly controversial Deshaun Watson. The 2017 Heisman winner spent 2022 with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.
Now, he is completing with the unproven Kyle Trask for a starting berth, and for veteran sportscaster Colin Cowherd, that is not good news. Speaking on his FS1 show 'The Herd', he implored Mayfield to stop playing and do something else:
"I'd like to be Baker Mayfield's agent and I'm going to tell him at 28 years old, retire, save your brand and go to college football and be an analyst. You'll be able to make seven figures. I just saw a story this morning where Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask - it's a battle to see who will start at quarterback. It's time to retire.
"You lead the NFL in interceptions since you entered it. You're not a franchise quarterback. You've never grown out of the chutzpah and the tough guy thing. And like Tim Tebow or Cam Newton, he's just too relevant to be a backup."
Could Baker Mayfield really lose the starting job at Tampa Bay? Buccaneers coaches weigh in
At first glance, a quarterback competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask should be a landslide victory in the former's favor given his experience. However, recent comments by the Tampa Bay coaching staff hint towards the Buccaneers going the other way.
Speaking to reporters after training camp, offensive coordinator Dave Canales said:
“First couple of days, I think the experience that Baker brings — just playing in games, being in camps, going through installs — you could see where the offense was jelling really well.
"The timing of the snaps and all that is really critical for us, so probably a little bit of an edge for Baker to start off, just in terms of the smoothness of the offense.
“But it just took a couple of days for Kyle to really settle in, and then what we saw is, the last two practices Kyle really showed what he can do: stretching the field with his arm, getting the ball out quickly, making decisions."
New #Bucs OC Dave Canales said Baker Mayfield may have had a slight edge in QB competition after first 2-3 days of camp, but said Trask really has come on recently. pic.twitter.com/eczAgZQMc2
Head coach Todd Bowles also weighed in, saying that Trask had impressed the organization by avoiding turnovers:
“Their No. 1 responsibility is don’t turn the ball over. And [Trask] has been doing a good job of not turning it over.”
If Canales' and Bowles' comments are true, Mayfield may spend 2023 on the bench unless he can improve at camp.