Baker Mayfield insists the comments he made about Daniel Jones during a recent interview were taken out of context, and he wanted to make sure the New York Giants rookie knew he did not mean to disrespect him in any way.
As part of a lengthy profile for GQ that was published on Tuesday, Mayfield said he was in disbelief that the New York Giants drafted former Duke star Daniel Jones with the sixth overall pick this year. Mayfield said the decision “blows my mind,” but he later clarified that he was talking about the flaws of evaluating quarterbacks and said he was surprised the Cleveland Browns took him No. 1 overall, as well.
On Wednesday, Mayfield told reporters he reached out to Jones via text message to clear the air.
“I reached out to Daniel because all that blew out, way out of hand,” Mayfield said, via Kevin Patra of Around the NFL. “And I wanted him to know how I felt and I’ve heard nothing but great things from Saquon and Sterling Shepard, guys that have a lot of respect for him and that I respect their opinions. Just wanted to clear the air with him.”
Mayfield added that he understands why his comments seemed “very disrespectful,” but his entire rant about QB evaluation was omitted from the interview.
“What people didn’t realize the conversation entailed of me saying that I was surprised I was drafted No. 1 overall, too. … It had nothing to do specifically about Daniel, about the winning and stuff,” he said.
Mayfield also noted that he typically doesn’t care about the media’s opinion, but he felt the way his commentary about Jones was presented “looked like my character was way out of line.” He says Jones texted him back and said “no worries.”
Although he seems to genuinely enjoy some of the negative things that are said about him, Mayfield knows what it is like to be doubted before you even take a snap in the NFL. It seemed strange that he would criticize Jones, so his explanation makes sense.
