Three years ago, it looked like Baker Mayfield's NFL career could be over, or at best, he would become a league journeyman. Now, he'll start the 2025 season as one of the 50 best players in the NFL.
Entering his third season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback, Mayfield on Monday was listed at No. 50 to start the top half of the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025. Per usual, the NFL released a short video of other players commenting about Mayfield, and terms like "the ultimate teammate" and "Super-Man" were used. The list is voted on by NFL players.
Top 100 Players of 2025:@Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield checks in at No. 50! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/xr2ebkixfz
— NFL (@NFL) August 4, 2025
Baker Mayfield No. 50 on NFL Top 100 Players of 2025
After an incredible career with the Oklahoma Sooners that included a Heisman Trophy and emerging as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield couldn't find a situation to thrive in during the first five years of his career. He spent his first four seasons with the circus that is the Cleveland Browns, who are still searching for a franchise QB, then bounced between two teams in 2022.
Mayfield signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers in 2023 with the tall task of replacing seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. That deal has since turned into at least four years with guaranteed money as Mayfield has revitalized his career in Tampa Bay.
In two seasons in Tampa, Mayfield has led the the Bucs to back-to-back NFC South division titles and made the Pro Bowl both years. Last season, Mayfield posted new career-highs in completions, completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns for the second season in a row. He threw for 4,500 yards and 41 TDs during the 2024 regular season. Brady is the only Bucs QB to ever throw more TDs in a season than Mayfield.
Now that Mayfield has turned things around for himself, he's not only solidified respect from his peers, but with him under center, the Bucs have established themselves as legit Super Bowl contenders this upcoming season. Mayfield winning his first Lombardi Trophy, and giving the Sooners a Super Bowl-winning QB in back-to-back seasons, would catapult him in next year's player rankings.
Mayfield was the third former Sooner to appear in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025 so far after center Creed Humphrey and running back Joe Mixon. And there should be even more coming with the likes of Jalen Hurts, Lane Johnson and CeeDee Lamb.
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