Baker Mayfield and Sterling Shepard lit the college football world on fire during their time together with the Oklahoma Sooners, and now they’ve reunited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Earlier this month, the Buccaneers inked Shepard to a free agent deal, giving him a shot after the wide receiver spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the New York Giants. However, injuries and timing forced both parties to move on, and Shepard had been looking for a fresh start, wondering if he’d get one.
Speaking with the media, Mayfield elaborated on how Shepard has been fitting in with the team, and what it means to have his college teammate on his side once again in Tampa Bay.
“It’s been great,” Mayfield said, regarding Shepard’s arrival. “You know, obviously, losing DT — I’m not going to speak on that, but just guys being down. We had a couple of guys, some little muscle injuries here and there, so down on receivers. Needed some guys to come in and step up, and he’s a veteran guy that’s going into Year 9. Had some injuries in the past, but he was looking for a fresh start. Obviously, I can relate to that part. Obviously, you know, our scouting department knows everybody that’s out there. It was just more so you know, he’s coming here for a tryout, and he handled the rest.
“I think, just in these last two days, you know, him picking up this offense pretty quickly, and obviously it’s always a work in progress, but it’s great to have him here. He’s a guy that’s always got a smile on his face. Works his tail off. He brings a little juice, when it comes to the mental side of things, when he gets fired up. So it’s good to have him back. One of the long time friends, you know, it’s good to have him back.”
Moreover, Mayfield added that he gave Shepard a glowing review to his front office, but he didn’t know they were going to pull the trigger that quick on the wide receiver. He was just checking in on his old buddy when Shepard relayed the news to the quarterback.
“It is what it is. Honestly, I was just checking in with him. I didn’t know they were going to pull the trigger on a tryout the next day. I had no idea,” Mayfield stated. “But obviously, like I said, once they got him to come in, he did the rest.
“He’s a good enough player to make it here, but bringing in competition, that’s always good for everybody. So he knows he’s got to handle his business, just to make this team. We’ve got a good team, and just having better skill groups is going to push everybody around him.”
Alas, it remains to be seen if Sterling Shepard can rejuvenate his career with the Buccaneers, but all he needs is a chance, and that’s what Baker Mayfield has helped prove him in Tampa Bay.
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