Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield says he was humbled in difficult season
The people who tuned into ESPN’s “Get Up” Friday morning hoping to see more verbal sparring between Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and former NFL coach Rex Ryan had to be disappointed.
But the people who hoped to detect signs Mayfield might actually mature after regressing in his second NFL season must have been relieved to some extent.
Mayfield played nice with Ryan, admitting he’s been humbled on the heels of a devastatingly disappointing 6-10 season and acknowledging he no longer feels a need to respond to critics like he has so many times in the past.
“It’s a humbling experience. It’s a different ball game. I mean, let’s just be honest, I put my foot in my mouth a lot this past year,” Mayfield said. “And I’m going to internalize that, and I think that’s the way I need to handle it.
“I mean, rest in peace, Kobe [Bryant], but that’s the way he did it. He motivated himself. He didn’t talk a lot. He talked to his teammates, drove them to be better people, better men, and so that’s the way I need to handle it. I don’t need to respond to the things that don’t matter, things that don’t help us win.”
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Ryan ripped Mayfield in September after the Browns started the season 1-2, calling the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft “overrated as hell” and a “one-read” QB.
