"Way to cut Baker Mayfield down to size": Ryan Fitzpatrick attacks Tom Brady over criticism of Bucs QB
Tom Brady returned to Tampa on Sunday afternoon, this time in Fox's NFL broadcasting booth to call the Eagles-Buccaneers game. After dapping up several of his former teammates, Brady took his place in the booth alongside Kevin Burkhardt and went about his business. However, things got a little spicy when some of Baker Mayfield's comments were brought to Brady's attention.
On the Casa De Klub podcast a few weeks ago, Mayfield alluded to the difference in the locker room after the Brady era came to a close.
"The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment. I think everybody was pretty stressed out. They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football, for guys who weren't having as much fun."
Brady responded to those comments on air, saying:
"I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings. There was a mindset of a champion I took to work every day. This wasn’t day care. If I wanted to have fun, I was gonna go to Disneyland with my kids."
While Mayfield defended himself after the game, saying his comments were taken out of context, the damage was done. The apparent beef between Mayfield and Brady went viral on social media, prompting former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to take attention.
"Sick burn, Tom Brady. Way to cut Baker Mayfield down to size. Can't believe he has had the nerve to win over the Bucs locker room and fans with his playing style and personality," Fitzpatrick tweeted.
Baker Mayfield shrugs off Tom Brady's criticism in 33-16 win over Eagles
Tom Brady promised he wouldn't hold back over his criticism of quarterbacks in his new job. And after calling a string of Cowboys games, Brady dialed it up for the Eagles-Bucs encounter.
Mayfield ended the afternoon throwing for 347 yards on 47 attempts for three total touchdowns in a pretty comfortable afternoon for the Buccaneers. Although he mostly did whatever he wanted to do against a struggling Eagles defense, Brady was critical of Mayfield, calling several of his throws "average."
When all was said and done, Brady named Mayfield as the winner of his LFG Player of the Game Award.