From a record-shattering Heisman winner at Oklahoma to a journeyman castoff, Baker Mayfield's improbable 2023 resurgence with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—capped by a masterful playoff performance—completes one of the NFL's most compelling career roller coasters.
Key Takeaways
- In 2017 at Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield completed 404 of 570 passes for a 70.9% completion percentage
- Baker Mayfield threw 41 touchdown passes in 2017, leading the FBS and setting an Oklahoma single-season record
- In the 2017 season, Mayfield had only 5 interceptions on 570 attempts, achieving a 0.9% interception rate
- In 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield was selected 1st overall by Cleveland Browns
- 2018 rookie season: 3,725 passing yards, 27 TDs, 14 INTs in 14 starts
- Set Browns rookie record with 27 TD passes in 2018
- In 2022, Baker Mayfield signed 1-year $4.858M fully guaranteed deal with Carolina Panthers
- 2022 season: 3,321 passing yards, 18 TDs, 13 INTs in 17 games despite injuries
- Completion % 60.0% in 2022, lowest since rookie year
- In 2023 with Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INTs in 17 starts
- Led Bucs to 9-8 record and playoffs in 2023, first winning season post-Brady
- Completion % 69.0% in 2023, career high, Pro Football Focus grade 80.2
- Baker Mayfield career passing yards 28,945 through 2023 playoffs
- 177 career TD passes, 20th active QB leader
- Heisman Trophy winner 2017, first Oklahoma QB
Baker Mayfield transformed from a Heisman winner to a triumphant NFL comeback story.
Awards and Records
- Baker Mayfield career passing yards 28,945 through 2023 playoffs
- 177 career TD passes, 20th active QB leader
- Heisman Trophy winner 2017, first Oklahoma QB
- NFL Comeback Player of the Year finalist 2023
- Pro Bowl 2023, first in 5 years
- Browns single-season rookie TD record 27 in 2018
- Oklahoma career passing TD record 119
- First overall pick 2018 NFL Draft, highest QB
- Led FBS in passer rating 2017 with 198.3, NCAA record
- Big 12 Championship MVP 2017
- Career completion % 64.2% NFL through 2023
- Most TD passes by undrafted/ journeyman to playoffs 2023
- 4x Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week 2017, record
- Career playoff passer rating 101.2 in 3 games
- First QB to lead comeback playoff win after being cut twice (Browns, Panthers)
- Oklahoma single-season yards 4,627 2017, record
- PFWA All-Rookie Team 2018
- Career Y/A 7.4 NFL
- Maxwell Award 2017 finalist
- First Browns QB to win playoff game since 1994
- 2023 NFC Wild Card MVP performance contender
- Career 100+ rating games: 28
- Bednarik Award semifinalist 2017
- Most 4-TD games college: 8, Oklahoma record
- NFL Top 100 2023 #94, first appearance
- First ever walk-on to Heisman at Power 5 school
Awards and Records Interpretation
Baker Mayfield's stat sheet is a beautifully chaotic novel where the underdog chapter, the Heisman chapter, the bust-and-redemption chapter, and the playoff hero chapter are all fighting for the cover, yet somehow it's starting to make a compelling kind of sense.
Carolina Panthers Career
- In 2022, Baker Mayfield signed 1-year $4.858M fully guaranteed deal with Carolina Panthers
- 2022 season: 3,321 passing yards, 18 TDs, 13 INTs in 17 games despite injuries
- Completion % 60.0% in 2022, lowest since rookie year
- Vs Saints Week 1 2022: 210 yds, 0 TDs, 1 INT loss
- Rushed for 159 yards in 2022, 1 TD with Panthers
- High mark vs Falcons Week 5: 350 yds, 2 TDs, 115.9 rating win
- Ankle injury Week 6 vs Rams, missed 2 games, returned strong
- Vs Buccaneers 2022: 217 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT split games
- Sacked 35 times in 2022, high pressure rate 38.5%
- 104.6 passer rating best game vs Falcons Week 18: 148 yds, 1 TD win
- Fumbled 7 times, lost 4 in Panthers tenure
- Vs 49ers Week 3: 175 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT in loss
- Deep pass accuracy 42.3% in 2022, improved from prior
- Started all 17 games despite high-ankle sprain and ribs issues
- Vs Bengals Week 4: 260 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs loss
- Air yards per attempt 7.9 in 2022
- Beat Tom Brady in only Panthers win vs Bucs 2022: 290 yds, 1 TD
- Completion prob above exp +4.2% Weeks 1-5 before injury
- Vs Seahawks Week 17: 247 yds, 2 TDs win
- Passer rating 78.4 overall 2022
- 1 rushing TD vs Falcons, first as Panther
- Vs Cardinals Week 16: 225 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Released by Panthers March 2023 after season
- Vs Bucs Week 2: 202 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT loss
Carolina Panthers Career Interpretation
Despite a season marred by injury and an offensive line that treated him like a human piñata, Baker Mayfield’s defiant grit was best displayed in his sole, signature moment of schadenfreude: outdueling Tom Brady in the Panthers' only win against the Buccaneers.
Cleveland Browns Career
- In 2018 NFL Draft, Baker Mayfield was selected 1st overall by Cleveland Browns
- 2018 rookie season: 3,725 passing yards, 27 TDs, 14 INTs in 14 starts
- Set Browns rookie record with 27 TD passes in 2018
- 2019: 3,827 yards, 22 TDs, 21 INTs, 59.5% adj completion due to injuries
- Career-high 62.8% completion percentage in 2020 with Browns, 3,563 yds
- Vs Bengals Week 1 2020: 357 yds, 3 TDs, 147.9 rating, Browns win
- 2020 playoffs debut vs Steelers: 263 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT playoff win
- Rushed for 228 yards in 2020, 1 TD, career high mobility year
- Signed 4-year $32.68M rookie deal with Browns in 2018
- 385 completions in 2018, Browns rookie record
- Vs Jets 2018: 428 yds, 4 TDs, 100.0 rating in debut start win
- 2020 AFC Wild Card: 8/11 179 yds vs Steelers
- INTs led league with 21 in 2019, but sacked 44 times
- 3-game win streak end 2020 season, 935 yds last 3 games
- Vs Ravens 2020: 343 yds, 2 TDs, beat Lamar Jackson
- Fumbles: 21 lost in Browns tenure 2018-2021
- 2021 Week 1: 16/29 213 yds, INT, loss to Chiefs
- Playoff Divisional vs Chiefs 2021: 18/34 204 yds, 1 TD, 3 INTs loss
- Passer rating 95.9 career Browns regular season
- 50+ starts with Browns: 58 games, 27-30-1 record
- RPO plays effective: 12.5% usage 2020, 110.2 rating
- Vs Steelers 2020 playoffs: 10-yard TD run
- 2018 Pro Bowl alternate as rookie
- Sacked 176 times in 58 Browns starts
- Traded to Panthers July 2022 after Browns signed Watson
- 2021 season: 3,010 yds, 17 TDs, 13 INTs in 15 starts injured
- Vs Falcons 2018: 243 yds, 2 TDs debut win
- Big Air Yards 2020: 8.2 average, improved deep ball
Cleveland Browns Career Interpretation
Baker Mayfield's time in Cleveland was a rollercoaster of rookie promise, electric highs, and fumble-riddled frustrations, proving he could sling it like a franchise savior one week and then hand the crown right back the next.
College Statistics
- In 2017 at Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield completed 404 of 570 passes for a 70.9% completion percentage
- Baker Mayfield threw 41 touchdown passes in 2017, leading the FBS and setting an Oklahoma single-season record
- In the 2017 season, Mayfield had only 5 interceptions on 570 attempts, achieving a 0.9% interception rate
- Mayfield rushed for 371 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2017, including key scrambles in big games
- Against Ohio State in 2017 CFP semifinal, Mayfield threw for 331 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs with 85.7% completion
- In 2016 at Oklahoma, Mayfield passed for 3,440 yards, 27 TDs, 9 INTs in 13 games
- Mayfield's 2017 passer rating of 198.3 set the NCAA single-season record
- At Texas Tech in 2015, Mayfield threw for 2,508 yards, 21 TDs, 7 INTs before injury
- Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 with 86% of first-place votes
- In 2017 Big 12 Championship vs TCU, 306 yards, 4 TDs, 162.9 rating
- Career college completion % 69.5% over 1,915/2,755 attempts
- 2017 Yds/Att 8.1, highest in Oklahoma history for QBs with 400+ att
- Rushed for 65 yards and 1 TD vs West Virginia in 2017, key in comeback win
- 2016 season QBR 182.4, 2nd in FBS
- Threw 119 consecutive passes without INT streak in 2017
- 4,627 passing yards in 2017, 3rd most in Oklahoma history
- Adjusted yards per attempt 12.4 in 2017, FBS leader
- 2015 at Texas Tech: 64.1% comp, 294.2 ypg average
- Career 163 TDs passing in college, Oklahoma record
- 2017 vs Kansas: 598 total yards (passing + rushing), school record
- Fumbled 8 times in 2017 but lost only 2
- 2016 Orange Bowl vs Auburn: 305 yds, 2 TDs, win
- Adjusted net yards per attempt 11.9 in 2017 career high
- Rushing TDs: 12 career at OU, record for QB
- 2017 TD% 7.6%, FBS best
- Vs Oklahoma State 2017: 470 yds, 5 TDs
- Career INT% 2.5% at Oklahoma
- 2016 passing TDs: 37 total incl postseason
- Big 12 Offensive POY 2016 and 2017
- 2015 Red Raider record 2,508 yds as freshman starter
College Statistics Interpretation
Baker Mayfield's 2017 Heisman campaign was a masterclass in quarterbacking, showing that his relentless efficiency, explosive playmaking, and uncanny ability to protect the ball didn't just break records—they made him the undisputed conductor of college football's most lethal offense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Career
- In 2023 with Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INTs in 17 starts
- Led Bucs to 9-8 record and playoffs in 2023, first winning season post-Brady
- Completion % 69.0% in 2023, career high, Pro Football Focus grade 80.2
- Signed 3-year $100M extension Dec 2023 with Bucs, $50M guaranteed
- Wild Card playoff win vs Eagles 2024: 33/42 337 yds, 3 TDs, 0 INT, 119.0 rating
- Vs Lions Divisional loss: 26/41 349 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT despite elbow injury
- Week 1 2023 vs Vikings: 241 yds, 4 TDs, 98.1 rating comeback win
- Rushed for 126 yards, 3 TDs in 2023, including playoffs
- Pro Bowl selection 2023, first since 2018
- Vs Packers Week 4 2023: 369 yds, 4 TDs, career high TDs game
- Sacked only 30 times in 2023 despite pass protection issues
- Vs Eagles playoff: 4th down TD pass to Cade Otton
- Completion prob above exp +7.8% 2023, top 5 QB
- Air yards 8.1 per att, deep ball 46.2% accuracy
- Vs Saints 5 times 2023: 1,086 yds, 8 TDs, swept division rivals
- Fumbles 10 in 2023, lost 3, improved ball security
- Vs Falcons Week 5: 264 yds, 2 TDs win
- Passer rating 98.5 regular season 2023, playoffs 105.6
- 66.3% comp under pressure 2023, elite rate
- Vs Colts Week 3: 3 TDs, 0 INT, 129.8 rating
- RPO success 55% 2023, 112.4 rating
- Vs 49ers Week 11: 228 yds, 1 TD loss
- Big-time throws 48 in 2023, PFF top 10
- Vs Lions playoff: 41 att despite injury, grit performance
- Career-high 28 TDs 2023
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Career Interpretation
Baker Mayfield wasn't just resurrecting his career in Tampa; he was doing a shockingly precise autopsy on the NFL's "he's a bust" eulogy, parlaying elite efficiency, gutsy playoff performances, and a $100 million vote of confidence into the definitive proof that the right system—and a chip on his shoulder—can turn a reclamation project into a franchise quarterback.
Sources & References
- Reference 1SPORTS-REFERENCEsports-reference.comVisit source
- Reference 2SOONERSPORTSsoonersports.comVisit source
- Reference 3PRO-FOOTBALL-REFERENCEpro-football-reference.comVisit source
- Reference 4ENen.wikipedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 5ESPNespn.comVisit source
- Reference 6OKLAHOMAoklahoma.rivals.comVisit source
- Reference 7TEXASTECHtexastech.rivals.comVisit source
- Reference 8HEISMANheisman.comVisit source
- Reference 9FOOTBALLOUTSIDERSfootballoutsiders.comVisit source
- Reference 10GOREDRAIDERSgoredraiders.comVisit source
- Reference 11HEROSPORTSherosports.comVisit source
- Reference 12NCAAncaa.comVisit source
- Reference 13TEXASTECHtexastech.comVisit source
- Reference 14BROWNSbrowns.comVisit source
- Reference 15NFLnfl.comVisit source
- Reference 16SPOTRACspotrac.comVisit source
- Reference 17NEXTGENSTATSnextgenstats.nfl.comVisit source
- Reference 18PLAYERPROFILERplayerprofiler.comVisit source
- Reference 19PANTHERSpanthers.comVisit source
- Reference 20PFFpff.comVisit source
- Reference 21BUCCANEERSbuccaneers.comVisit source
- Reference 22RBSDMrbsdm.comVisit source
- Reference 23PROBOWLprobowl.comVisit source
- Reference 24NFLDRAFTnfldraft.comVisit source
- Reference 25BIG12SPORTSbig12sports.comVisit source