After signing quarterback Baker Mayfield to a big money deal just a few months ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are continuing to bolster their roster with players he’s going to be comfortable with. Their latest addition is a man he’s known since college.
According to NFL insider Mike Garafolo, the Buccaneers have agreed to terms with free agent wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Mayfield and Shepard played together at Oklahoma in 2015, during which Shepard emerged as Mayfield’s top target for his breakout campaign that year.
Shepard left to go to the NFL in the 2016 NFL Draft and was selected 40th overall by the New York Giants. He’s played the last eight seasons in New York, recording 372 receptions for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Mayfield would play two more seasons at Oklahoma, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2016, before going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. After a few up-and-down seasons with the Browns, he spent 2022 bouncing around the league, starting games for the hapless Carolina Panthers and the injury-riddled Los Angeles Rams before signing with the Bucs last offseason.
Since joining the Bucs, Mayfield has been nothing short of superb, making his first Pro Bowl and enjoying his best year as a pro on a team that looking for production to match that of Tom Brady.
Things are really looking up for Mayfield and he’s only going to get more comfortable in his current surroundings.
Will Sterling Shepard also find new life in Tampa Bay?