Mayfield slinging footballs and opinions
Rookie’s bold style offers feeling of hope to longtime doormat
Baker Mayfield’s brash and outspoken approach to public speaking mirrors how he plays football.
Honest, authentic and freewheeling, the Cleveland Browns’ rookie quarterback makes no apologies for his words and wears his emotions on his sleeve.
When the Browns fired coach Hue Jackson and he quickly took a job with the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals, it didn’t sit well with the former Heisman Trophy winner and top overall pick from Oklahoma.
So Mayfield called Jackson “fake.” They had an awkward moment Sunday after the Browns’ 3520 win over the Bengals, with the quarterback eschewing a hug for a fast handshake.
Instead of giving a politically correct answer about Jackson, Mayfield expressed how he really felt.
“People get maturity confused with me being 100 percent comfortable in my own skin,” Mayfield told Cleveland reporters Wednesday. “So that's absolutely how I am. It’s not immature. It’s me being exactly who I am every day, being that same guy for our team, and I think that’s very important right now.
“People took it as me personally attacking Hue. That’s not it. It’s the fact that I get to have my own opinion on how that transpired, and he gets to do what he wants. Although I’m an athlete, I’m not a cookiecutter quarterback. Never have been, never will be. I speak my mind. I didn't like the move, and people don’t have to care. I’m not looking for anybody’s approval. I don't regret any of it.”
Mayfield’s personality and ability to improvise on the field are paying dividends for the improving Browns, who are 4-6-1 after ending a streak of 25 consecutive road losses by beating the Bengals.
Heading into Sunday’s game at NRG Stadium against the Texans, the Browns have won two of three games since firing Jackson and naming former Oilers assistant Gregg Williams as interim head coach.
Since the dismissal of Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley and the naming of Freddie Kitchens as interim offensive coordinator, Mayfield has completed 73.9 percent of his throws for 771 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception and a 129.5 passer rating. Only New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has a higher rating (142.1) the past three weeks.
And Mayfield, who had four touchdown passes and zero interceptions against the Bengals, is the first rookie in NFL history to post consecutive games with a passer rating higher than 140.
“He can move around, makes plays, tries to find a way to make plays,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. “He can do it with his feet, do it with his arm, so we’ve got to try to contain him.”
Mayfield has passed for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 93.2 passer rating. He’s a top candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year honors
“Baker’s a winner,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s a competitor, very accurate, has a great instinct for the game, excellent ability to keep plays alive.”
O’Brien met with Mayfield at the NFL scouting combine, getting to know a player he knew he wouldn’t be coaching because of the presence of Deshaun Watson, his own young star quarterback.
“He carries himself in a good way,” O’Brien said. “He’s a confident guy, very confident, feels like he can make all the throws. And he can make all the throws. He’s the No. 1 draft pick for a reason. He’s numero uno.”
A former walk-on at Texas Tech who transferred to Oklahoma and made a name for himself with his accuracy, scrambling and swagger, Mayfield competed against Watson at the collegiate level. And Watson came out on top in a playoff game between Clemson and Oklahoma. The two young quarterbacks are friends.
“He’s a guy that has a lot of confidence in himself, a lot of confidence in his team, and he’s a leader,” Watson said. “Everyone in that organization is following him. That’s the reason why he was the No. 1 pick, and that’s the reason why he’s the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Because he’s doing everything right for that organization — winning games, giving that organization hope — and he’s playing really well.
“Another good friend of mine. We support each other, and we pull for each other. So all success and love to him and everything he’s going to continue to do in this career.”
Williams is enjoying the Mayfield show so far.
“I think he has those rare intangibles of being able to walk into the huddle, getting people to pay attention to him, getting people to understand about how it is to compete,” Williams said. “He also has the physical skill set. He’s extremely accurate. He’s very instinctive. He has very good anticipation. He’s a smart football player.”
Mayfield won a state championship at Lake Travis High School in Austin, passing for 6,255 yards, 67 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He couldn’t accommodate all the ticket requests from family and friends for Sunday’s game.
“Any time you have a chance to go back to Texas, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “Unfortunately, I had to tell people they were almost on their own because of how many people want to come to that game. I can’t buy everybody a ticket.”
After years of losing by the Browns, Mayfield wants to put his imprint on changing the team’s culture. How he’s performed and handled himself so far is going a long way toward that goal.
“Culture change is something that takes a long time,” Mayfield said. “To get everybody on the same page is one of the more difficult things to do.
“People talked about how Cleveland’s a blue-collar city. Everybody works for everything. Something that I love to pride myself on is that you have to work for it every day. I have to continue to do that and never be satisfied.”