Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Emeka Egbuka’s Hilarious Retort to Baker Mayfield’s Accusations of Disrespect As Bucs Teammates Share Fun Banter

Emeka Egbuka has quickly become the go-to option for Baker Mayfield in Tampa!

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have started their season 3-0, and much of that success is coming down to the big performances of rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Starting the season 3-0 with wins over the Falcons, Texans, and Jets, Tampa Bay is currently enjoying a good run as one of the few undefeated teams still left in the league.

Missing the services of Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers’ offense is still thriving with their first-round rookie Egbuka’s positive impact thus far. That has also led to some fun banter amongst teammates Baker Mayfield and Egbuka himself.

Baker Mayfield's QB rating ranks second in the league when targeting @EgbukaEmeka 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9fkl01s4UK
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 23, 2025

Baker Mayfield Jokes about Egbuka Disrespecting his passes

The chemistry between quarterback Baker Mayfield and his rookie wideout, Emeka Egbuka, is on point so much so that it doesn’t feel like this is Egbuka’s rookie season.

In fact, while targeting Egbuka through the first three weeks, Mayfeild has a passer rating of 133.1, which is second-best among all receivers in the league with at least 10 targets.

What is exciting in Tampa currently is how this positive connection between the two has brought out a fun relationship that transcends beyond the football field as well. In week 3, Egbuka made a single-handed catch over top cornerback Sauce Gardner during the Bucs’ win against the Jets.

When asked about which of Egbuka’s receptions was more impressive, the one-handed catch or the crucial reception towards the end of the game, Mayfield’s funny response drew laughter from the media.

“One-hand catch” (the more impressive one), the Bucs signal caller told the media before adding sarcastically, “He’s disrespecting my passes down the field with one hand, rookies” (with a slight shake of the head).

Baker Mayfield had jokes at the post-game press conference 🤣

Egbuka had an incredible one-handed catch at the start of the 2nd quarter, but Baker was not happy 😢

Will the Browns make Playoffs this season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/K2IiqbAGDb
— BettingToolsUS (@BettingToolsUS) September 24, 2025

Egbuka’s Humorous Response to Mayfield

The rookie wideout drafted by the Buccaneers with the nineteenth overall pick earlier this year joined Kay Adams on her podcast ‘Up & Adams’ where the pair discussed his spectacular catch.

Adams asked the former Ohio State Buckeyes’ receiver for his response to what Mayfield had said. Egbuka didn’t hold back and immediately answered with a smile that the ball needs to be put in a better place for him to make use of both of his hands. He further added that it was the only way he could complete the catch.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka's response to Baker Mayfield saying he disrespected his passes with his one-handed catch?

"You got to put it in a better spot." 🤣@heykayadams | @EgbukaEmeka | @bakermayfield pic.twitter.com/ZaCKwmez0Q
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 25, 2025

Looking at the pair’s bond both on and off the field, the Buccaneers must be feeling hopeful for a deeper postseason run this year. Egbuka’s role will be a crucial one for that to happen, especially now that Mike Evans will be sidelined for the upcoming few weeks with another hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Chris Godwin is set to make his return to action after last season’s ankle dislocation injury that forced him to miss half of the season last year. While he takes time to get back his rhythm, Egbuka will remain the go-to player for Mayfield.

What is even more exciting is the thought of seeing all three, Egbuka, Godwin, and Evans, take the field at the same time. That, however, will have to wait for a few more weeks at the very least, but till then, Tampa turns its attention to the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, for their game on Sunday.

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Baker Mayfield

Emeka Egbuka

NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!