Mayfield isn’t helping himself land new team
Baker Mayfield is doing himself no favors.
The embattled Cleveland Browns quarterback, who clearly is headed out of Cleveland, but to destinations unknown, aired a variety of grievances via the YNK Podcast, released Wednesday.
Mayfield ripped the Browns, and deservedly so. The Cleveland franchise is among the worst-run in the National Football League, with abysmal ownership and dubious management.
But everyone in the NFL knows that. It's bad form for Mayfield to declare it, especially when he's looking for an opportunity to quarterback elsewhere.
The iconic Sooner star says he feels “disrespected” by the Browns, and that's only natural. Literally every NFL player, employee and fan knows that the Browns disrespected Mayfield. Welcome to Cleveland.
But grabbing a megaphone and bashing the Browns on your way out the door is no way to engender interest among other franchises.
And saying he'd like to go the offices of the fans who booed him and harass them at their cubicles? Idiotic. Don't give an owner or general manager reason to pick a less-volatile quarterback among the unexceptional QBs looking for a huddle to command.
This isn't college. Mayfield isn't a dominant quarterback. He's shown flashes of being a good quarterback, but he's also shown flashes of being a journeyman. Mayfield needs a good opportunity to show what he can do.
In college, Mayfield could grab his crotch at Kansas, run from Arkansas peace officers and plant a flag in Ohio State's Horseshoe. Fans either wouldn't care or would cheer. Coaches would shrug or administer token discipline.
That's what happens when you're an elite player. But Mayfield is not an elite player on the pro level. He's among a big group of quarterbacks that always are with us, hat in hand, looking for a job.
Don't go on a podcast and bash your previous employer, even if it is the Browns. Don't give franchises a reason to look elsewhere.
The Browns in March traded for disgraced Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who missed the entire 2021 season after almost two dozen women claimed he sexually harassed or assaulted them during massage therapies.
“I was told one thing and they completely did another,” Mayfield said.
Hey, no one is saying Mayfield shouldn't be upset. No one is defending the Browns, I hope. Cleveland football is a circus. Cleveland Clowns. Has been for 20 years. Mayfield occasionally has played his part in the Browns' fiascos, but he's been more victim than perpetrator.
And NFL people know that. No reason to declare it.
Mayfield noted that he played for four head coaches in four Cleveland seasons and said he's “just looking for stabilization … I know what I need to do for me to be the best version of me and be able to lead an organization. I'm in a good place right now."
Mayfield reiterated what most of us believe – that the Seattle Seahawks likely are the franchise most interested in him. But Seattle has little motivation to trade for Mayfield, since the Browns sans trade likely will have to cut Mayfield and absorb his $18.9 million contract. Seattle, or another team, could pick up Mayfield for a comparatively meager salary.
“I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that I got caught up in all the negativity and stuff during last year," Mayfield said, referring to an injury-marred 2021 season. "I was trying to be tough and fight through it, but then physically I wasn't as capable of doing what I would normally.
“When I wasn't performing on the field, that's when it really started to go downhill. Because I can tough it out, I don't care, I'm not going to complain about it, like everybody is banged up. But then when it started hindering my play and going downhill, that's when I was like, oh s---.
"That's when I started losing my own self-confidence and losing myself. This past year was rough. It was. It was rough on me, my family. It sucked because I knew what I could be doing, but I physically wasn't in a state to do it."
Nothing Mayfield said was incorrect. The Browns deserve the bashing. But low-key is the best tactic for Mayfield right now. No new television commercials. No podcasts. No airing of dirty laundry, even if the Browns deserve it.
When you need a job, best behavior is the best move.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.