TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield not solely had a hand in Sterling Shepard signing with the group, however he additionally noticed himself in his former Oklahoma teammate, who had been considering retirement at age 31 after eight seasons with the New York Giants and never re-signing.
“Clearly … we’re down on receivers and we wanted some guys to return in and step up,” Mayfield mentioned Wednesday. “He is a veteran man that is going into Yr 9. He is had some accidents prior to now, however he is on the lookout for a recent begin and clearly I can relate to that half.”
The Buccaneers have been Mayfield’s third group after the Cleveland Browns traded away the 2018 No. 1 draft choose in July 2022, and so they rewarded him with a three-year contract value $100 million ($115 million in the event you depend incentives) this offseason after turning his profession round. Maybe Shepard may reignite his profession there too, following a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2021.
Mayfield referred to as Shepard to inquire about his availability after studying that Deven Thompkins was waived with an damage designation and Trey Palmer would miss necessary minicamp because of an undisclosed damage.
“He is an unbelievable man, unbelievable teammate, when it comes to his work ethic,” Mayfield mentioned. “Clearly, he isn’t the largest man, however he works to have the ability to compete at this stage. He is not a egocentric man; it is by no means been about him.”
Shepard joked that he spent the previous month and a half to 2 months in “straight dad mode,” taking the children to highschool and “attempting to determine the following steps.” He hadn’t run any routes however was nonetheless sprinting and lifting and maintained his season-ending weight of 190 kilos.
Mayfield urged him to contact his agent, who referred to as the Buccaneers 5 minutes later. They requested, “May he are available in for a tryout tomorrow?” Whereas Shepard jumped on the alternative to reunite together with his former teammate, there was only one downside.
“It was leg day,” Shepard mentioned with fun. “That was the loopy half. I put 415 [pounds] on the bar that day. I used to be like, ‘Why did I resolve to do this?'”
Nonetheless, he boarded a airplane for Tampa and carried out nicely sufficient within the tryout to earn a spot on the group.
Mayfield joked concerning the squat weight.
“He most likely lied about that,” Mayfield mentioned. “I did not know they have been going to drag the set off on a tryout the following day. I had no concept. However … as soon as they received him in, he did the remaining. He is a adequate participant to make it right here. However bringing in competitors like that is all the time good for everyone. He is aware of he is gotta deal with his enterprise simply to make this group. We received group, and simply having higher talent teams is gonna push everyone round him.”
Palmer is anticipated to be wholesome for coaching camp. The Buccaneers additionally chosen Jalen McMillan within the third spherical of this 12 months’s NFL draft, and Rakim Jarrett, an undrafted free agent final season, had a pair spectacular moments in minicamp. However there is a drop-off in expertise after Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, which is the place Shepard may also help. Plus, Mayfield believes his persona will mesh nicely with their locker room.
“He is a man that is all the time received a smile on his face,” Mayfield mentioned. “He works his tail off, and he brings just a little juice in terms of the psychological aspect of issues. He will get fired up. It is good to have him again. Considered one of my longtime buddies, so it is good to have him again.”
Shepard referred to as Mayfield the “final competitor” with the kind of vitality you “feed off of,” and he is thrilled for Mayfield’s profession revival in Tampa.
“He all the time performs with that chip on his shoulder as a result of issues did not work out different locations,” Shepard mentioned. “However I am tremendous completely happy that he is right here and he has a house and he is wanting ahead to the season beginning. … I am simply blessed to be right here and blessed [to] be again with my boy.”
