Baker Mayfield Applauded Lions Fans With Gracious Message After Bucs’ Loss in Detroit

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback shared a heartfelt sentiment with long-suffering Detroit Lions fans.

Baker Mayfield had never played in Detroit before Sunday, but he has a unique understanding of what the Lions’ continued run into the postseason means for the city. 

Mayfield, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns back in 2018, began his career for a franchise, like the Lions, that has never appeared in a Super Bowl. That’s why, even though the win came at the expense of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mayfield acknowledged how special the moment is for Detroit, telling reporters that long-suffering Lions fans have “earned” this. 

Here is Mayfield’s full comment, per Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News on X, formerly Twitter. 

“Yeah, this is a great atmosphere. You can tell this city has had a lot of pent-up emotion and been waiting a long time for this,” Mayfield said, per Bianchi. “I can’t say that I exactly went through it in Cleveland when we went and made our playoff run because it was a COVID year, but this place—they’ve earned that.

“[Lions coach] Dan Campbell has done a hell of a job turning this thing around. I’m happy for [Lions quarterback] Jared [Goff], and they have a lot of good players. So they play hard. You can tell this city—they play for each other, and so it was a great atmosphere, and yeah, they got the best of us.”

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers lost Sunday in Detroit, but the Tampa Bay quarterback was gracious to Lions fans in defeat :: Eric Seals / USA TODAY Sports

Drawing on his experience in Cleveland, the Buccaneers signal-caller perfectly summed up Detroit’s “pent-up emotion,” adding that the fans have “been waiting a long time for this.” 

The two situations aren’t exactly the same, but the vibes around this Lions squad are similar to those that surrounded the 2020 Browns, a team that Mayfield led to its first playoff victory since 2002.  

Mayfield clearly recognizes and appreciates the bigger picture of what the Lions are doing right now, despite the fact that Detroit’s magical ride ended his own season. 

Pure class from the Buccaneers QB.