Baker Mayfield Sends Warning To Cleveland Browns As He Gets Set To Play His Former Team In Week 2
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Baker Mayfield lost three fumbles. Then he looked at the schedule. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell 33-27 in Cincinnati. He went 23-of-28 for 216 yards. Mayfield posted no picks. He had one rushing score and three giveaways.
The Bucs will face an AFC North team for the second consecutive week. Cleveland is up next for their home opener on Sunday.
“I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that,” Mayfield said.
“It’s the next opponent. Cleveland happens to be the next opponent — our home opener. So, yeah. Have a bad taste in our mouth, looking forward to getting it out.”
Baker Mayfield Still Treats It As The Next One
He would not turn it into a speech.
“It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one,” he said. “I’ve said that to you guys over the years — it doesn’t matter who it is, the most important one is the next one. And we’ve got — I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. And we’ve got to move forward.”
The history is public. Cleveland drafted him first overall in 2018, then the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson after 2021 and shipped Mayfield to Carolina. He bounced to the Rams, then landed in Tampa.
He is 0-1 against Cleveland since leaving. That was with the Panthers in 2022.
The offseason version was sharper. On Chris Long’s podcast, he said, “First home game’s Cleveland. I mean, there’s no way to sugarcoat that one. That one means a lot.”
Sunday’s version was cooler. The fumbles forced that tone.
Baker Mayfield Already Lit The Stefanski Fuse
The Browns are not the only leftover. Kevin Stefanski now coaches Atlanta.
Mayfield hit him in January after a post called Cleveland’s quarterback room a dumpster fire.
“Failed is quite the reach, pal,” he wrote. “Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”
Joe Thomas fired back at that beef. Week 2 is not Atlanta. It is the franchise that cut him loose.
Cleveland just allowed 34 points to Jacksonville. Tampa is an early home favorite.
The warning is simple for the Bucs. They must fix the ball at Raymond James Stadium. Fortunately, hosting the Browns can give them a good chance to bounce back and regain confidence.
The Browns lead the head-to-head, having won the most recent duel in November 2022.
