New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick clearly had his eye on Baker Mayfield’s improbable comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders in his regular season debut in a Los Angeles Rams uniform.
The former Carolina Panther completed a 98-yard game-winning touchdown drive on Thursday night, two days after being claimed on waivers.
Belichick was obviously blown away by how quickly Mayfield was able to pick up the offense. On Friday, he even went as far as comparing one of his own players, offensive tackle Conor McDermott, to the veteran quarterback.
“About as good as you could expect for a player coming in like this,” said Belichick, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “Maybe Mayfield, but it’s still pretty good.”
McDermott was recently signed off the New York Jets’ practice squad in an effort to add depth to the Patriots’ banged up offensive line. It isn’t his first rodeo in New England, either.
He was actually selected by the team in the sixth-round of the 2017 NFL draft. Belichick waived him the same year he was drafted in hopes he’d pass through waivers without being claimed, but the Buffalo Bills swooped in and snatched him up.
Fast forward five years later, McDermott is once again a Patriot with another chance to make a name for himself, just like Mayfield did in Los Angeles.
“…He picked up things quickly. He’s a smart kid,” said Belichick. “He’s picked up things quickly, and [he has] a lot of familiarity with teams in the division that we’ve played and that kind of thing. That’s all played pretty favorably.”
