Buccaneers LB Lavonte David: ‘Great Things To See’ From QB Baker Mayfield
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are about to launch training camp in a little more than one week, and when they do a fierce quarterback battle will headline it.
With Baker Mayfield the veteran journeyman pitted against third-year backup Kyle Trask, the Buccaneers are hopeful one of them will successfully lead the franchise into the post-Tom Brady era.
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From the sounds of linebacker Lavonte David in a recent Sirius XM Radio interview, however, the contest may be done already.
“Obviously, Baker, already he’s been ‘the guy’ and, you know, he’s expected to live up to what everybody expected him to be,” Davis said in the interview. “Baker is great for our locker room. I like the way Baker carries himself coming in with a ready-to-work mentality. Everybody loves him already and the way he approaches practice is great to see. So there’s definitely some great things to see out of Baker. He’s a guy who’s done it before — took his team to the playoffs and done some great things so far.”
Some may be surprised to hear David speak so highly about Mayfield before he has even taken a meaningful snap for the Bucs.
But the quick impression Mayfield has made on the team is reminiscent of the memories coach Todd Bowles shared previously about Viking the quarterback while he was still in school at Oklahoma.
“I was on a college trip when I went down to Oklahoma and everything he stood for as far as leading a team on offense - he had moxie, he had natural leadership skills, it's not over-blown," Bowles said of Mayfield. "Guys naturally gravitate toward him, he has an excitement he brings toward the game, and he's hungry...And I can live with that right there. I liked him a couple years ago and that we got him now with an opportunity to have a chance to start, I think it's a good thing for us.”
READ MORE: Todd Bowles Likes Baker Mayfield’s Moxie
But David’s praise isn’t intended to award a winner of the competition yet, it's just high praise from a veteran who has been one of the better defensive players of his generation.
Trask is still in the fight, and David looks forward to seeing who wins.
“The competition with those guys is going to be very, very competitive,” David said. “And I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82
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