Baker Mayfield had hand in Sterling Shepard signing with Bucs - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield not only had a hand in Sterling Shepard signing with the Bucs — he saw himself in his former Oklahoma teammate, who'd been contemplating retirement at age 31 after eight seasons with the New York Giants and not re-signing.

«Obviously… we're down on [wide] receivers and we needed some guys to come in and step up,» Mayfield said Wednesday. «He's a veteran guy that's going into year nine. He's had some injuries in the past, but he's looking for a fresh start and obviously I can relate to that part.»

The Bucs were Mayfield's third team after the Cleveland Browns traded away the 2018 No. 1 draft pick in July 2022, and they rewarded him with a three-year contract worth $100 million ($115 million if you count incentives) this offseason after turning his career around. Perhaps Shepard could reignite his career there too, following a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2021.

Mayfield phoned Shepard to inquire about his availability after learning Deven Thompkins was waived with an injury designation and that Trey Palmer would miss mandatory minicamp due to an undisclosed injury.

«He's an unbelievable guy, unbelievable teammate, in terms of his work ethic,» Mayfield said. «Obviously, he's not the biggest guy but he works to be able to compete at this level. He's not a selfish guy — it's never been about him.»

Shepard joked that he spent the last month and a half to two months in «straight dad mode,» taking the kids to school and «trying to figure out the next steps.» He hadn't run any routes but was still sprinting and lifting and maintained his season-ending weight of 190 pounds.

Mayfield urged him to contact his agent, who called the Bucs five minutes later. They