Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield had a tough day on Sunday, but he has a big supporter who would love to help him through it: Legendary wrestler Ric Flair.
After Mayfield and the Buccaneers fell to the Detroit Lions in a tight 31-23 NFC Divisional Round game, Flair posted a lengthy message to X, formerly Twitter, in which he tagged Mayfield and the Buccaneers. He expressed support for Mayfield, who had a breakout prove-it season.
“We’ve Only Met Once. As Of Today, I Have So Much Respect For You And The Buccaneers!” Flair wrote. “You Played Your Heart Out. You’re A Bad***! I Live In Tampa. I Don’t Have Your Number. I Would Love To Hang Out With You! You’re Such A Bad***! I’m So Proud To Say That I’m A Buccaneers Fan! To The Whole Buccaneers Team, God Bless You!”
Newsweek reached out to Mayfield and Flair by email to find out if any effort has been (or will be) made to put the two in contact.
Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Mayfield threw for 349 yards (third-most by a Buccaneers quarterback in a playoff game) against the Lions, going 26-for-41 as a passer with three touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions including a game-sealing mistake with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I feel like my heart just got ripped out,” Mayfield told reporters after the game. “But football is a complex game, but it’s also simple. It comes down to taking care of the ball, and in two-minute drives like that, when you know you’re going to have four downs to use, just a bad mistake by me.”
He added: “And it sucks, because I know what type of group we’ve had all year, we fought to get to this point, we fought to be in that game, we weren’t supposed to be here by any measure, but we believed in each other and fought for it. So yeah, this one is going to weigh on me for a while.”
Mayfield signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $4 million last year and earned his spot as the team’s starter following Tom Brady’s retirement last February. After playing well and leading the team further than anyone expected (plus earning a bit of extra incentive money in the process), Mayfield and the Buccaneers both expressed optimism that he could remain with the team going forward.
“I love this group,” Mayfield told reporters at a press conference. “I said that all year, and it’s authentic. I mean that. It would mean a lot for me to bring back a lot of key pieces, to get this back together, to get it to Year 2 in the system. You can make huge strides. I would love that. Obviously, who knows how it’s going to play out, but I can’t say enough about this organization and the opportunity they gave me this year. Just thankful, and I hope it works out.”
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield has “most definitely” earned a chance to run back this season’s success.
“Obviously, it’s too early to talk about that and business is business, but Baker had a hell of a year,” he said. “We love him. The guys love him. And we’ll see what the future holds.”
Flair will be overjoyed.
“You Went Places You Weren’t Supposed To Go!” he also wrote in his Sunday X post. “Next Year, Let’s Kick A**! WOOOOO!”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.