The old brash, cocky side of Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has given way to a more seasoned leadership style these days. But make no mistake about Bake: he can still tap into his former swaggering self and talk some smack, as evidenced last Sunday when he engaged in a spirited exchange with a heckling Seahawks fan.

While waiting with his teammates at the edge of the tunnel to enter the field, Mayfield instantly heard some disparaging words from a man near the railing. Some NFL players might be inclined to ignore that type of provocation, but Mayfield would have none of it. He dished it right back  ("You'll be real quiet at halftime!" and a few more spicy words in the back-and-forth). 

Mayfield's matter-of-fact assessment of the pre-game exchange a day later: “Pretty fun.”

Bucs All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs was there to witness No. 6's colorful repartee, which says a lot about his hard-nosed approach to the game. Whether he’s plowing for extra yards like a fullback in a quarterback’s body, or engaging with an obnoxious fan in a hostile environment, he takes no prisoners.

“Well, Bake wasn’t saying anything at first, so I wasn’t saying anything,” Wirfs said. “And we kind of knew about it. A friend of that guy won the lottery and brought season tickets to the Seahawks I guess. So they’re like, ‘Hey, there’s going to be a guy chirping.' But he didn’t have anything. His material was (expletive), pardon my language. But it was brutal. If you’re going to be a heckler, you’ve gotta step your game up. And Bake kind of let him know that. It was pretty cool. I was just laughing, like ‘You’re just poking a bear.’. … Because (Bake) wasn't saying anything ... we were just getting ready for the game and he started firing back at (the fan). I was like, ‘Holy Cow, there we go.’ ”

But Mayfield took it all in stride. 

“I try not to get too high, not get too low, which is something that I was not doing early on in my career,” he told the media at One Buc Place this week. “Early on in my career, it (was( looked at as cocky and immature, (and) now it is moxie and ‘He is a dawg.' Same (crap), different day. As long as you play well, they change the narrative. You just have to be yourself and I have always been like that."

Regarding his growth as a player and person, Mayfield added, “At the core, [I am] definitely the same, but matured in different ways. [I’m] not worried about little things that really do not matter Now, (if) you put it in the landscape of competitive football games in that atmosphere? That will never change."

Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who worked closely with Mayfield last season as well as passing game coordinator, offered a different perspective on his quarterback. It was a lesser known side of the man who has led the Bucs to a 4-1 record: his football IQ.

“I think it definitely does (get overlooked) because you (hear) the sound bites, you see the way he plays the game, the demeanor he has,” Grizzard said. “…But everything behind the scenes – in the meeting room, whether it’s in the quarterback room or meeting with the O-line and talking to every position – he’s very cerebral and understands exactly how we’re trying to attack the defense, (and) understands why we’re changing plays. 

“He watches a ton of tape, whether it’s from the blitz side of it, the coverage structure, what (defensive backs) are out there. You see the way he talks and presents himself, but behind the scenes it’s all football IQ and studying and getting himself in a really good position to put other guys in position as well.”

But if fans decide to heckle him, Mayfield may just bark right back.

“They can try,” Wirfs said. “That’s part of the game. That guy just wasn’t very good.”

NOTES: Head coach Todd Bowles has ruled out cornerback Zyon McCollum and wide receiver Chris Godwin, along with cornerback Benjamin Morrison, wide receiver Mike Evans and tailbacks Bucky Irving and Josh Williams, for Sunday’s game against the 49ers. Of Godwin he said: “"It is a different (part of his) fibula – a different part of his leg. He is week-to-week with that one." With Williams out, that means recently signed Owen Wright could be elevated from the practice squad to the active roster.