Baker Mayfield is in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and enjoying somewhat of a resurgeance so far. Through four games, the former No. 1 overall pick has passed for 882 yards, 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for the 3-1 Bucs.
Mayfield seems to have settled in after a rough last few years. He played mediocre ball in his final season in Cleveland in 2021, when he was playing through a shoulder injury. Then he split time with the Panthers and Rams last season, not playing particularly well at either stop.
But Mayfield is off to a nice start in 2023, and he joined “The Pat McAfee Show” for an interview on Friday ahead of the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas. Mayfield, who went to Oklahoma, will be the guest picker on ESPN’s “GameDay” show from the site of the rivalry game.
McAfee talked with Mayfield about the quarterback’s time with the Browns. McAfee said he was confused by what led to the split between Mayfield and the Browns. Mayfield said he felt the same way.
“I think I’m still confused too,” Mayfield. “I played 2021 with a pretty much torn apart shoulder. I was excited to get the surgery, get healthy and get another shot to try to get back to that 2021 form.”
Baker Mayfield says he’s still confused about why he’s not on the Browns… pic.twitter.com/WivjCIGmZa
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 6, 2023
On the surface, it’s not all that confusing. Mayfield and the Browns parted ways after the quarterback demanded a trade because his feelings were hurt that Cleveland was pursuing Deshaun Watson. But maybe Mayfield is confused about why the Browns, which believed in him enough to make him the No. 1 pick in 2018, would give up on him despite the strong season he had in 2020, and why they wouldn’t give him an allowance for the injury he played through in 2021. That’s more understandable.
The Browns saw what they felt was a superior quarterback available on the trade market and got involved. It’s two years later, and Cleveland is not seeing the return on their Watson investment. But let’s not go saying the Browns really screwed up just because Mayfield has had a good 4-game stint with Tampa Bay. If Mayfield’s strong play continues for a whole season, then maybe that will change things.
