Baker Mayfield spent the first four seasons of his career in Cleveland, but if there’s one thing he still has no interest in talking about, it’s definitely the Browns.
During the latest episode of “The New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, Mayfield joined the two brothers for an interview and they wanted to talk about the Browns. The Kelces are from Cleveland and Jason still seems to be a Browns fan, so he asked Baker how the Browns could fix their QB situation.
“How can we fix the the quarterback situation in Cleveland? What is going on? The [Browns’ QB] jersey is now a list of 25 people,” Jason said. “Is it a curse? Why can we not get this right? We draft you, the best quarterback in college history. What’s going on? What’s happening?”
Mayfield, who was taken by the Browns with the first overall pick in 2018, had zero interest in talking about Cleveland’s QB situation.
“Listen, I plead the fifth,” Mayfield said, before adding, “Not my problem anymore.”
During his four seasons in Cleveland, Mayfield put together a 29-30 record. If he’s remembered for one thing, it’s the fact that he led the Browns to their first playoff win in 26 years when he threw for 263 and three touchdowns in a 48-37 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. That win came in January 2021, and less than 18 months later, he was gone. The Browns shipped off to Carolina in July 22 after making a trade with the Panthers.
Mayfield, who’s led the Buccaneers to two straight division titles, thought he played well in Cleveland when he was battling injuries.
“When I was healthy, I was starting to get pretty damn good there,” Mayfield said.
One thing that Mayfield shared is that he actually didn’t know that he was going to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, a loaded QB draft that also included Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
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“Not until that phone call [on draft night],” Mayfield said of when he found out he was being taken with the first pick. “Now, knowing [then Browns general manager] John Dorsey, I could probably have said, ‘I’m going to Cleveland,’ but before that, I wouldn’t have known.”
Mayfield might not have been appreciated in Cleveland, but the Buccaneers definitely seem to love him. The Bucs are already thinking about handing him an extension even though he still has two years left on his current deal.
“I love Baker. I love everything he’s done for us,” general manager Jason Licht told The Athletic on Thursday. “The goal for us is for Baker to continue to be the player that he is, and at some point, we reach an extension when the time is right and he continues to be our quarterback for a long time. That’s the goal.”
The Browns went 3-14 last season and they still haven’t figured out their QB situation since Mayfield left. On the other hand, Mayfield has been to the playoffs twice, so it’s probably safe to say that the Bucs QB has gotten the last laugh on his old team.
