Last year, Baker Mayfield was playing on cheap one-year deal, trying to prove to himself and everyone else that he could still be a successful starting quarterback in the NFL.

After a career year in 2023, Mayfield now heads into the 2024 season as the unquestioned leader of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense, having signed a new three-year contract extension earlier in the offseason.

Liam Coen, the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator, loves the impact that Mayfield’s confidence is having on the team as they prepare for the upcoming season.

“Just a calm confidence, I think,” Coen said when asked recently about what Mayfield is bringing to the table during offseason preparations. “The atmosphere we want to be able to establish in the meeting rooms is one of, the players being the drivers of it. And yes, we are installing and teaching a new offense, but he knows a lot of these things already. He’s heard them, he’s repped them. And so, him just taking it over. He has done a great job in the meeting room setting of talking to some of the guys, ‘Hey man, make sure you’re here.’ That’s what we’re trying to establish. The confidence of throwing the football has been impressive thus far. We haven’t had a ton of balls hit the ground, and he’s throwing it with a lot of confidence right now.”

Mayfield now has the stability of a long-term deal, and having helped lead the underdog Bucs to another NFC South title last year, he knows what this Tampa Bay team is capable of with him at the helm.