“It’s Tough to Not Pay Attention to It”: Baker Mayfield Weighs In on the Browns’ Struggles to Develop a QB

The Cleveland Browns, inarguably, are struggling the most among NFL teams when it comes to their quarterback situation. Veteran Joe Flacco, whom the Browns traded after a 1-3 start, showed flashes of his old self in Cincinnati. Rookie Dillon Gabriel, now leading the charge, has been underwhelming with a 1-2 record, while Shedeur Sanders continues to collect splinters on the bench.

‘Eat your heart out, Cleveland,’ is what Baker Mayfield could easily say right now… But he hasn’t. Mayfield’s Buccaneers are 6-2, and he has become a fixture in the weekly MVP conversation. He’s been that good.

And honestly, he was that good in Cleveland, too. Mayfield led the Browns to their first playoff win since 1994 back in 2021. But after playing through an injury, a ‘mistake’ many quarterbacks make, he was shipped out to Carolina.

The Browns replaced him with Deshaun Watson, whose massive, fully guaranteed contract has drained the team. Also, Watson spent most of his time on the sidelines. The current QB room isn’t faring much better. It’s a full-blown mess, and even Mayfield admits it’s hard not to notice.

In an interview with NFL Network‘s Kyle Brandt, Mayfield was first shown the infamous photo of him rocking his third mustache of the day on game day (from the 2019 season). The then-Browns QB started with his regular one, shaved it into a Fu Manchu before the game, and then went clean after.

The stunt came midseason, right after a loss to the Broncos, the team’s sixth of the year at that. Although the Browns were participating in Movember, fans weren’t exactly amused with Mayfield’s antics.

Six years later, Mayfield laughs it off, admitting that he probably should’ve cleaned up a bit before the press conference. He looked like a man going through it, and, truthfully, he was.

But now he’s in a much better place, both on and off the field. And as Brandt joked, maybe that’s the Florida sunshine working its magic. The conversation eventually turned to Cleveland, where Brandt asked if Baker still keeps tabs on his former team and their ongoing quarterback carousel.

“Umm, you know, it’s tough not to pay attention to it just because there are still people there that are genuine friends. And [they] were there for instrumental years of my life, and this next chapter of my journey in the NFL,” Mayfield responded.

“Umm, so, [I’m] watching from afar, but also, then [I’m] trying to balance that with what is really important. And that’s how I handle my stuff here. And checking in every once in a while with people, but after that, I’ve got priorities here in Tampa,” he added.

It’s pretty admirable that Mayfield still keeps in touch with his former teammates and the folks he got to know in Cleveland. Hard to hate a guy like that.