The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Quieter Browns’ Mayfield knows Year 3 vital for him
Baker Mayfield went back to his roots during this strange offseason, a time he’s used to reflect and forget a season that didn’t go well for the Browns’ brash quarterback. He’s also worked on his golf game.
“I’ve always been a high-effort guy,” he said. “I am swinging hard still, but it is still not going straight.”
Neither is his NFL career, and Mayfield’s spent the past two months trying to get it back on the proverbial fairway. After an electrifying rookie season, he regressed significantly with Cleveland. On Wednesday, Mayfield, who will be playing for his fourth coach in three years in 2020, spoke to reporters for the first time since January, when the Browns’ 6-10 letdown was followed by yet another coaching change, front-office purge and renewed questions about whether he’s a franchise QB.
Mayfield knows the upcoming season is vital. “Year 3 is always a big year in these contracts and timingwise,” Mayfield said on a Zoom call from his home in Texas, where he’s been during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m not going to put any added pressure on myself. There’s no need for that. Because if I win, good things will happen. That’s the most important part.”
Mayfield was way worse in 2019 than 2018. He followed a record-setting rookie season by throwing 21 interceptions, completing just 59.4% of his passes, with a paltry 78.8 passer rating. He lacked confidence in the pocket, never got on the same page with star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and had a handful of minor media meltdowns.
Nothing went as planned for him or the Browns, who fell flat. Mayfield is determined to learn from those mistakes. And, as he’s done throughout his football life, prove people wrong.
To start, he’s been noticeably low key. For him, that’s a major change. “I have a different approach this year,” he said. “Everybody who has been interviewed on our team has hit the nail on the head over and over about this is time to work. It is time to do our thing instead of talking about it. This is the first media thing I have done, just because there is no need to be talking about it. It is just time to go do it and right now.
“It is moving in silence, which is fine with me. That is how I used to do it before getting on a bigger stage, so I am happy to get back to those roots.”
Never one to mince words — on or off the field — Mayfield feels time at home has given him perspective and a greater appreciation of his profession. Circumstances have changed, and so has he.
“You only get so many opportunities in this game that I have been blessed to play,” he said. “To be able to take advantage of that and enjoy the moments, I think it is going to be good for me, getting back to that and having fun and enjoying the process of how to get to winning, because that is the most enjoyable thing looking back on it.”