Baker Mayfield criticizes Tom Brady for the Buccaneers locker room culture he created

Baker Mayfield knows exactly who he is. Love him or hate him, he is incredibly authentic, but as a leader and a star quarterback in this league. While his first five years in the NFL out of Oklahoma were up and down between the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, he has certainly found himself with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talk about totally reinventing yourself, bruh!

Brash, but confident. Calm, but petty. Mayfield is truly one-of-one. He is not for everyone, but he is exactly what the Buccaneers needed in pivoting off Tom Brady last season. Mayfield came into Tampa Bay with a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder. It helped them have a better season than the year prior, winning the NFC South for the third year in a row. Having ammo once again, this team is dangerous.

While on the Casa de Klub podcast earlier this week, Mayfield talked about Tampa's culture change.

"The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out."

He continued by saying that people were largely walking on eggshells in the end around Brady.

"You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet. There were a lot of mind games going on."

Mayfield then said he was never going to fill Brady's massive shoes; he was going to be himself.

This is precisely why Mayfield is beloved and hated across the league. He is going to keep doing him!

Baker Mayfield says he had to reset locker room culture after Tom Brady

Look. There is nothing wrong with this. As a leader, you have to be yourself because otherwise nobody is going to buy into what you are selling. It may come across cocky to some, but it actually shows maturity coming from Mayfield. He is pushing 30 years old, is married and has a young daughter. He has been through some stuff professionally, but has come out the other side of it well.

Mayfield is never going to be the most talented quarterback in the league. He may always play with a chip on his shoulder. What is going to serve him long-term in Tampa Bay is authenticity. He is allowed to grow and mature as a man throughout his football career. Mayfield knew right away that the locker room he was walking into needed to be revamped. He injected positivity and swagger firmly into it.

Again, this is not really a huge dig at Brady, other than the notion that he and Mayfield go about playing quarterback in a totally different manner. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but failure isn't flattering. After watching one player after another try and emulate what worked for someone else, it has been a breath of fresh air for Mayfield to continue to refine his leadership craft.

The NFC South has three strong teams in it, but maybe only two of them will be making the playoffs.