Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield still holds a grudge against a member of the Georgia team that beat Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are navigating their first season without Tom Brady as their quarterback because he retired after the 2022 campaign. This offseason, the team brought in former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to compete with Kyle Trask to be their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. While the Buccaneers will have a new quarterback starting, they will be competing in what is a wide-open NFC South division.
During the mandatory minicamp, the Buccaneers decided to try out some players to add some further depth to the roster. One player who received a tryout was former Indianapolis Colts kicker Rodrigo Blankenship.
Kyle Burger of ABC Action News in Tampa Bay tweeted out a video of Blankenship at practice, where he shook hands with multiple players. One of those players was Mayfield, who then told Blankenship, “I still don’t like you.”
This is about Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners losing to Blankenship’s Georgia Bulldogs in the epic 2018 Rose Bowl.
Baker Mayfield jokes that he still doesn’t like Rodrigo Blankenship over the 2018 Rose Bowl
After practice, Burger asked Mayfield if speaking with Blankenship brought back some Rose Bowl memories. Mayfield responded by saying “Are you trying to bring some back? I know you, Kyle, trying to stir s**t up.”
The 2018 Rose Bowl was a semifinal matchup, with the winner moving on to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Oklahoma and Georgia engaged in an offensive duel that needed overtime to find out a winner. With the game tied 48-48 after both teams matched field goals, it was Georgia who got the edge after Austin Seibert missed a 27-yard field goal, and Sony Michel ran for a 27-yard touchdown.
Mayfield threw for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while completing 23-of-35 pass attempts. As for Blankenship, he made 2-of-3 field goal attempts with a long of 55 yards, and all six extra point attempts.
As for Georgia, they lost 26-23 to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the National Championship Game in overtime after blowing a 20-7 lead.
Blankenship signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2020. After playing 16 games in his first season, Blankenship suffered a hip injury in 2021 and was waived by the team after the first week of the 2022 season. Blankenship had a brief stint with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. Earlier this year, he underwent surgery for a torn muscle in his leg.
The Buccaneers are one of several teams interested in Blankenship, per NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport.
While the game was nearly six years ago, Mayfield apparently still remembers it well.