Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has made a name for himself as an international celebrity. Let’s recap 13 of his finest and funniest moments over the last few months.
June
ProCamp kids football camp
Most NFL players hold a ProCamp kids football camp, it’s just what they do. Part of giving back to the community and helping to impart knowledge to the future generations. Baker Mayfield is no different.
At the beginning of June, Mayfield held his own ProCamp football camp for the kids and it created headlines a-plenty. As Mary Kay Cabot reported in a video on Twitter, Mayfield was teaching a lot more than football to the kids. At one stage, he jumps into a crowd of kids and starts dancing.
In an interesting turn of events and after the fact, one Twitter user asked Mayfield, in response to Cabot’s video of him dancing with the kids… “If they all flipped and attacked you how many could you take?” To (almost) everyone’s delight, Mayfield responded with this gem, “Which age group? As a general thought, I say at least 50+.”
Speaking out on Duke Johnson trade request
Baker Mayfield is the kind of guy that makes no apologies for his words. When he speaks, he does so with full intention. In response to the talks around Cleveland running back Duke Johnson requesting a trade earlier in the year, Mayfield had some words to say. Words that were so brutally honest, that it supposedly led to some of the veteran players on the roster having stern words with Mayfield.
“If we have guys that want to be here, they’ll show that, they’ll voice that. Obviously he’s going to handle his stuff how he wants, but you’re either on this train or you’re not, it’s moving. You can get out of the way or you can join us. So it is what it is,” Mayfield said.
Saquon Barkley bet
Baker Mayfield had a bet going during the 2018 season with friend and co-first round pick Saquon Barkley. Each was betting on being crowned with Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. As we now know, Barkley took the crown which meant Mayfield had to pay up.
In a tweet by Barkley, Mayfield is shown holding an over-the-top, rapper-style gold and diamond chain which reads “QUADS”. A fitting sentiment given the size of Barkley’s quads.
July
Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield
Thanks to a quasi-announcement video posted by the Browns’ quarterback on Instagram, fans everywhere discovered that Mayfield and fiancé Emily Wilkinson tied the knot on July 6, 2019. Reactions were a-plenty but mostly everyone was just happy for the young lovebirds.
ESPN Magazine cover
Mina Kimes, senior writer for ESPN, wrote a great piece on the second year Browns quarterback. A photo of Mayfield has graced the front cover of ESPN The Magazine to promote the article. The cover image shows a bearded Mayfield in shorts and a trendy coat, holding a handful of dog leashes, trying to keep them under control. The message: Underdog no more!
Camp starts, makes an entrance
The Browns Training Camp official began on July 25th, and Mayfield arrived wearing a t-shirt that sent Twitter into a frenzy. He made headlines for simply rocking up to Camp wearing a t-shirt that simply said “Dawgs Gotta Eat”. To be fair, he’s not wrong.
Unloads on wide receiver group
A few days into camp, things can start heating up and it’s not uncommon to see some intensity and fire within a team. At the end of July, this was the case for Baker Mayfield. As reported by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mayfield unleashed a barrage of words on his wide receivers after they failed to provide him an opening when he had to scramble during a drill. He supposedly didn’t hold back, expletives and all, and head coach Freddie Kitchens was totally fine about it.
“I don’t know if they responded to him or not, but yeah, I expect my quarterback to get everybody on the same page… That’s what I want.” Kitchens said.
Hey, whatever gets the job done right?
New York Jets defender story
As a starting quarterback, you kind of need to have your offensive line on your side. These guys are literally putting their bodies on the line for you, so it’s a big deal. In July, we found out just how Mayfield won over the Browns offensive linemen.
During the infamous game in which Mayfield took over for Tyrod Taylor and ultimately began his reign, an incident occured which had the offensive lineman in stitches. According to Bob Wylie, former Browns offensive line coach, after an offensive drive the linemen came to the Browns sidelines laughing. Upon prompt by Wylie, they told him at the line of scrimmage before the snap, one of the New York Jets defenders said, “Hey rookie, we are coming after you,” to which Mayfield replied, “I don’t even know who you are, man.”
After that, the linemen were on Team Mayfield and well, the rest we saw with our own eyes as the Browns went on to have a historic game and season.
Mayfield hangs with the coolest people
Being a celebrity probably means that hanging with other celebrities is no big deal, but a little over a year ago, Mayfield was just a college football player (a bloody good one though). Now, he brushes shoulders with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mark Wahlberg and Machine Gun Kelly.
Who’s next?
August
Scrimmage practice
Sporting a solo mustache, Mayfield practiced in front of Browns fans at FirstEnergy Stadium for the first time in months as part of the Orange and Brown scrimmage game. After practice, he noted the benefit the offense has, practicing against the Browns defense with the likes of Myles Garrett on the field.
“You have to have someone that is going to challenge you and make you better. Going up against guys like that and other guys in our defense, it makes us better.”
The offense looked good out there and Mayfield looks primed to have a great sophomore season.
Shotguns a beer at Indians practice
The craze of NFL players chugging alcoholic beverages at sporting events (other than their own we hope), seems to be really embedding into today’s NFL culture. With the likes of Aaron Rodgers, David Bakhtiari, Patrick Mahomes, Mitch Trubisky and Matthew Stafford, to name a few, it’s no wonder Mayfield instinctively knew what to do when that Jumbotron camera was on him at an Indians game last week. Only this time, Mayfield didn’t just chug it, he shotgunned it. Look at him, always putting his own spin on things.
Respecting the soldiers
On August 6, the Cleveland Browns hosted members of the United States military for training camp. At the end of practice, it was reported that the players were called back to the facilities, however Mayfield was having none of that.
There were a handful of soldiers on field with things to sign and selfies to take, and Mayfield was all for that. He hung around signing anything put in front of him and taking a selfie with every military member who wanted one. Social media and news outlets blew up over this gesture, and so they should. Servicemen and women risk their lives so he can live his best life, and this small act is just one way to show his gratitude and respect. Props to Baker.
Browns vs. Redskins: First preseason game
This is not a full review of the first preseason game vs the Washington Redskins. Rather, it’s an observation about the outstanding performance of the sophomore quarterback in the opening drive of the game.
The opening drive lasted two minutes and thirteen seconds, during which Mayfield completed five of six passes for 77 yards and ended the drive with a spectacular touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins.
Mayfield didn’t play another snap after that, as is to be expected in the first preseason game, but the Browns did go on to secure the game with a 30-10 win.
