‘I’ll never be Tom Brady’: Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield opens up under pressure to follow ‘GOAT’

Baker Mayfield has landed with the Bucs after a messy 2022 season and has big shoes to fill — even as he insists he’s “not going to try to be Tom.”

After playing for the Panthers and Rams last year, Mayfield will be running to succeed Tom Brady at Tampa Bay after the seven-time Super Bowl winner quit for a second time in February.

“Listen, I’ll never be Tom Brady,” Mayfield told reporters Monday. “There’s a reason he’s won so many Super Bowls. He’s the greatest of all time.

‘There’s no doubt about that. I won’t try to be Tom. i will be me That got me to this point. We’ll do it differently, but that’s what makes this league so special. Everyone gives it their own touch.”

Baker Mayfield has a chance to land the starting job with the Bucs after a messy 2022

Mayfield made four starts for the Rams after being released from the Panthers’ midseason

Mayfield landed in Tampa Bay after a tumultuous 2022 on a one-year, $4 million deal.

He was traded to the Panthers in July after the Browns acquired Deshaun Watson and started six games at Carolina before being demoted to the third string and asking for his release, according to ESPN.

From there, he was pulled from waivers by the Rams — who were without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford — and made four impressive starts for the team.

Mayfield threw 850 yards and four touchdowns for LA and led an exciting 17-16 comeback against the Raiders just 48 hours after joining the team.

“That was definitely a struggle,” Mayfield said of his nomadic 2022 season.

“There were times when I looked in the mirror and I was like, ‘Okay. What’s next? What should I do?’ But you have to attribute it to your success.

Tom Brady retired in February after a legendary career that included winning seven Super Bowls

“If I can look back and trust all the situations and experiences that I’ve had and learn from them and not just stamp on the negative things but just take a little something away from each time, then you keep growing. And I still believe that all the experiences I’ve had happened for a reason and that will help me in the long run.’

Mayfield will compete with 2021 Bucs second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job.

And the former Brown downplayed the notion that he would react poorly to starting the season as a backup.

“Just look at the last year. Otherwise I don’t really have much to say. I mean, everyone wants to talk about how I used to be. If you haven’t noticed that I’ve changed a lot, then… that’s okay.’