Nearly three years ago, Baker Mayfield joined the Rams just two days before they played in a Thursday night game against the Raiders. Mayfield ended up playing the majority of the game, and led Los Angeles to a comeback victory before starting the remainder of the season.

This week, Mayfield will play against the Rams for the first time since his brief stint with Los Angeles in 2022. After Mayfield’s time on the Rams, he signed with the Buccaneers the following offseason and remained their starter ever since.

Though Mayfield completed his career turnaround in Tampa Bay, he credits that time with the Rams as pivotal to his career arc.

“There is no way for me to sugarcoat it—it was pivotal in my career and in my journey. It helped me find the fun in football again, that joy. Getting to learn from those guys,” Mayfield told reporters this week. “They helped me out and helped me discover what offense I really want to play in, and the responsibility that comes with that. … It was instrumental in my career, something I’m forever grateful for. It’ll be fun to go back and see some familiar faces.”

Though Mayfield went just 2-3 during his five games with the Rams, that experience helped get him to where he is now. Since joining the Buccaneers, Mayfield has thrown for 4,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, and last year, he completed a career-high 71.4% of his passes while throwing a career-high 41 touchdowns.

Mayfield was also highly complimentary of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford while speaking to reporters this week, who was injured during Mayfield’s time with the team.

“He can do everything. He’s always been able to make every throw. As long as he was in Detroit, he didn’t get a whole lot of credit for how really good he was. I understand that now. To me, he’s always been a top three or five quarterback in the league. And one of the best, if not the best, pure passer in the history of the NFL,” Mayfield declared. “The way it comes off of his hand, the way he can change his arm angles, obviously the no-look passes really started with him. He can do it all.”