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Jenna Laine, ESPN writer
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers attacking player baker mayfield not only did he have a hand in Sterling Shepard signing with the Bucs: He saw himself in his former Oklahoma teammate, who had been contemplating retirement at age 31 after eight seasons with the Bucs. New York Giants and not sign again.
“Obviously … we’re lacking (wide) receivers and we needed some guys to come in and step up,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “He’s a ninth-year veteran. He’s had some injuries in the past, but he’s looking for a fresh start and I can obviously relate to that part.”
The Bucs were Mayfield’s third team after the cleveland browns They traded the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft in July 2022, and rewarded him with a three-year deal worth $100 million ($115 million if you count incentives) this offseason after turning his career around. Perhaps Shepard can reignite his career there too, coming off a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles tendon in 2021.
Mayfield called Shepard to ask about his availability after finding out. David Thompson was waived with an injury designation and that Trey Palmer He would miss mandatory minicamp due to an undisclosed injury.
“He’s an incredible guy, an incredible 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 he still ran and lifted weights and maintained his weight of 190 pounds at the end of the season.
Mayfield urged him to contact his agent, who called the Bucs five minutes later. They asked, “Could you come to a test tomorrow?” While Shepard jumped at the chance to reunite with his former teammate, there was only one problem.
“It was leg day,” Shepard said with a laugh. “That was the crazy part. I put 415 (pounds) on the bar that day. I thought, ‘Why did I decide to do that?'”
Still, he boarded a plane to Tampa and performed well enough in the tryout to earn a spot on the team.
Mayfield joked about the weight squat.
“He probably lied about that,” Mayfield said. “I didn’t know they were going to pull the trigger on a tryout the next day. I had no idea. But… once they got him in, he did the rest. He’s a good enough player to get here. But bringing in competition like That’s always good for everyone. He knows he has to run his business alone to build this team, and just having better skill sets will boost everyone around him.”
Palmer is expected to be healthy for training camp. The Bucs also selected Jalen McMillan in the third round of this year’s NFL draft, and Rakim Jarrett, an undrafted free agent last season, had a couple of impressive moments in minicamp. But there’s a drop in experience after mike evans and Chris Godwin, which is where Shepard can help. Additionally, Mayfield believes her personality will fit well into her wardrobe.
“He’s a guy that always has a smile on his face,” Mayfield said. “He works hard and brings some juice when it comes to the mental side of things. He gets fired up. It’s good to have him back. One of my old friends, so it’s good to have him back.”
Shepard called Mayfield the “ultimate competitor” with the kind of energy that “you feed off,” and is excited for Mayfield’s career resurgence in Tampa.
“It always plays on that resentment because things didn’t work out elsewhere,” Shepard said. “But I’m super happy that he’s here and he has a house and he can’t wait for the season to start… I feel blessed to be here and to be back with my son.”