NFL gives Rams the chance to make Baker Mayfield instantly regret leaving

The Los Angeles Rams have another unconfirmed schedule leak to pass along. It seems that the team is now rumored to be hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football on Thanksgiving Day. It may be a rumor at the moment, but this one makes a lot of sense. Both the Rams and the Bucs won their respective divisions in 2024. And then there is all the drama associated with the first return of Rams' former quarterback Baker Mayfield to SoFi Stadium.

It is his first game back since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2023 NFL season.

When the Los Angeles Rams claimed tarnished veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield off waivers from the Carolina Panthers, they did not just grab a quarterback who was struggling on the football field. Mayfield was broken mentally as well. No, I'm not suggesting that he was given a concerning diagnosis from a medical professional regarding some behavioral health ailment. It's that he had lost his way. The game of football was no longer fun. He had failed to realize his ambition to be an NFL star.

As a result, his star had fallen far. He ended up as a discarded starting quarterback who was jettisoned from the Cleveland Browns' and Carolina Panthers' rosters, respectively. When he arrived on the Rams roster, he was not given time to sulk. From the moment he deboarded the plane, he was thrust into the quarterback room and forced to work on instincts alone.

He would suit up and compete against the Las Vegas Raiders just hours after landing. He completed 22 of 35 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in a sensational come-from-behind victory. In that game, after all of his passion for the game of football had been sucked out of his soul, he rediscovered the love of football once more.

He would go on to lead the Rams' depleted roster to a 1-3 record to close out the 2022 NFL season. But one of his losses was an overtime loss in Seattle against the Seahawks, a game that the team would lose by three points. But as is often the case, the Rams rebuild a player's passion, only to watch him sign elsewhere.

No moment in an NFL player's career can replicate the feeling of going from zero to hero in 48 hours. None. And yet, Baker Mayfield did not hesitate or pause to put the team that had done so much to revitalize his NFL career in the rearview mirror.

Competing is a tough challenge, but it is more than a habit or vocation. True competitors are called to compete, whatever the odds and whatever the scenario. So it was not truly a choice for Baker Mayfield to bet on himself once again. He has always wanted to start and star in the NFL at quarterback. Ultimately, all the Rams did was restore his confidence to the point where he was comfortable in betting on himself once more.