Baker Mayfield fires back at Lions' C.J. Gardner-Johnson ahead of Divisional Round matchup

Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers qualified for the Divisional Round following a 32-9 stomp over the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost a step at the end of the season and struggled to get anything going in the wild-card round. They now face the Detroit Lions.

Well, the trash talk has already begun. Lions safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson said that the Buccaneers would have a great group if they had a great quarterback, naming Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Russell Gage as good players.

Baker Mayfield clapped back:

"I don’t think he’s really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage, We love Russell, but Russell hasn’t played a snap all year for us. Gardner-Johnson must be going off the preseason stuff the media was talking about but, he didn’t play in our first game, so I’m excited to see him.

"I think he’s a really good player. He has been for a while. He’s been an impactful guy on every team he’s been on, so he’s a good player, but he’s got to do a little bit more film study."

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Baker Mayfield's career

Usually, when a team selects a quarterback with the first overall pick, it hopes that he can be there for a while. That didn't work for Mayfield, who played for a bunch of teams in the league and is now a part of the Buccaneers in their post-Tom Brady era.

It's another chance for Baker Mayfield to rebuild his career. The former first-overall pick has had stints with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams with varying degrees of success.

Mayfield signed a one-year deal worth $4 million with another $4.25 million available in incentives. That's far from what he expected to earn after his rookie deal, but that's life in the NFL.

Mayfield was signed as a free agent in March and looked like a capable quarterback for most of the season, alternating good with bad moments. He largely maade enough to take the Buccaneers where they wanted to be. He got himself a playoff spot, and probably, a nice contract for the upcoming seasons.