The New England Patriots are still struggling to replace Tom Brady under center, but it didn’t take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers long. They signed former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to a one-year deal in 2023, and he earned a three-year, $115 million extension after leading the Bucs to an NFC South title, and a postseason victory.

While Mayfield is talented in his own right, it must have been a massive change for the Buccaneers to go from the greatest quarterback of all time to someone else. But maybe in some ways it was better. During a recent appearance on the Casa de Klub podcast, Mayfield said that Brady’s intensity led to a stressed locker room.

“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out,” Mayfield said, via Pro Football Talk. “They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun.”

Mayfield said he and Brady have “very different personalities.” He also said Brady would play “mind games,” and that included an unseen battle between quarterback and play-caller.

“You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet,” Mayfield said. “There were a lot of mind games going on.”

Not only will Brady go down as the greatest quarterback of all time, but also as one of the fiercest competitors of all time. He held not only himself, but his entire team to the highest standard, which could definitely stress out teammates.

It’s safe to say that rookie quarterbacks have struggled out of the gates in 2024. First-year signal-callers have 196 passing attempts, zero passing touchdowns and six interceptions through two weeks, as defenses have always had the upper hand.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton is going through some growing pains with his new quarterback, Bo Nix. Denver fell to 0-2 after a 13-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, a game in which Nix completed 20 of 35 passes for 246 yards and two interceptions. Afterward, reporter James Palmer said on Steve Smith Sr.’s podcast that Steelers defensive backs were laughing about how limited the Broncos’ playbook was for their rookie quarterback.

“I was just in the Steelers locker room going against a rookie in Bo Nix in his second NFL start,” Palmer said, via USA TODAY. “[After the game], I’m talking to the Steelers corners and they’re sitting there laughing in the corner going, ‘We knew the playbook was this big [gestures small fingers]. We know they weren’t going to take any shots, and we know what he likes to do. They’re going to make it easy on him to go here and here, and that’s all we had to worry about.'”

The Broncos are not having Nix push the ball down the field because he’s struggled mightily when doing so. The former Oregon Duck is 6 of 24 with three interceptions and a 14.2 passer rating when attempting passes of at least 10 air yards.

The Broncos average 263 yards of total offense, which ranks fifth-worst in the league, and 15 points per game, which is tied for third-worst in the league. Not every rookie quarterback can be C.J. Stroud, but Denver is hoping Nix can show improvement week to week while the Broncos are allowed to open up more of their playbook.

New York Jets right tackle Morgan Moses reportedly avoided major injury in the Week 3 victory over the New England Patriots, but he’s still going to miss some time. According to NFL Media, Moses is expected to miss two to four weeks with an MCL sprain and bone bruise. In steps Olu Fashanu at right tackle, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Moses was rolled up on from behind in the third quarter on Thursday night. Visibly in pain, it appeared Moses had suffered a serious injury. But he eventually got up and limped off the field with trainers. Moses indicated to NFL Media after the game that he believed his injury wasn’t serious.

The 33-year-old was traded to the Jets from the Baltimore Ravens this offseason as New York worked to revamp its offensive front. Moses is one of three new starters the Jets acquired on the offensive line, along with left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard John Simpson.

The Jets were smart to select Fashanu with their first pick. Some believed the Penn State product to be the best offensive tackle in this entire class, as he allowed zero sacks on 697 pass-blocking snaps, and was named a 2023 Consensus All-American. Now, he steps in to protect Aaron Rodgers.