The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2026 schedule has been revealed. While the Bucs won't begin the season at home, their first game at Raymond James Stadium will come a week later and it's one that quarterback Baker Mayfield will most definitely have circled on his calendar.
That's because that game will come against the Cleveland Browns, who, once upon a time, spent the first overall pick on Mayfield in the 2018 NFL Draft. As we all know, it didn't work out for Mayfield in Cleveland but it wasn't necessarily his fault. He battled through injuries so his play declined and then the Browns dediced, for whatever reason, that they'd rather have Deshaun Watson over Mayfield.
Mayfield was then traded to Carolina where he only spent a few months before ending the 2022 season with the Rams. He then joined the Buccaneers in the 2023 offseason and the rest is history. Tampa is happy to have Mayfield and he's clearly happy to be here as well.
Adam Schefter spoke about Mayfield getting a crack at his former team for the first time as a member of the Buccaneers. Schefter didn't hold back when speaking about what this matchup is going to mean to Mayfield.
"Their home opener is against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2. How much do you think that game is going to matter to one Baker Mayfield, the former quarterback who the Browns made the number one overall pick at one point in time, who they moved on [from]? We know how much Baker has kept receipts. We know that he's aware of all the people and all the teams that have written him off. The first NFL team to write him off was the Cleveland Browns. And the first NFL team that Baker Mayfield and the Bucs will get at home in Week 2 is the Cleveland Browns. Buckle your seatbelt."
Baker Mayfield will have Browns revenge game circled on calendar
Mayfield did square off against his first NFL team once before but it was prior to coming to Tampa. Mayfield and the Panthers lost to Cleveland when the two teams met up in 2022 but here's to hoping that the Bucs can help their guy out and get him a win against the first-ever team that doubted Mayfield.
The Browns have definitely been hit with a heavy dose of karma since moving on from Mayfield so that has to make the situation better for him. Not only has Mayfield thrived with the fourth team of his career, the Browns' trade for Watson is easily one of the worst trades in NFL history and they've been floundering at the quarterback position since Mayfield left (much like they were before he got to Cleveland).
It may just be a random Week 2 game to most people but we know that for Baker Mayfield, this matchup against the Browns is going to be one that he wants almost more than anything. Let's hope he can get the ultimate revenge on the team that once deemed him not good enough.
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