“If anybody’s going to turn that franchise around, it’d be me,” Baker Mayfield had proclaimed about the Cleveland Browns at his NFL Scouting Combine. And arguably, he did. The 2018 first overall pick finished his opening two seasons well, and led the team to its first playoff win in 26 years in 2020. However, a year later he was traded, after being labeled as immature and a ‘child’ unfit to lead the Browns to the Super Bowl. In hindsight, it was one of the costliest mistakes Cleveland made, and RGIII is making sure it’s not forgotten.
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After the 48-14 win against the Carolina Panthers that saw Mayfield’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the NFC South lead on Sunday, Robert Griffin III took to X to praise the star quarterback. And, of course, to throw a jab or two at the Browns for deeming him unfit to lead.
Griffin even alleged that the Browns “tried to destroy” Mayfield’s career.
“The Cleveland Browns tried to destroy Baker Mayfield’s NFL career and reputation after he helped them end the NFL’s longest post season drought and win their first playoff game in 26 years,” Griffin wrote.
The Browns had opted for a QB in Deshaun Watson, whose controversies at that time were well known. This decision saw Mayfield change teams twice in a year: first in Carolina and then in Los Angeles.
‘They said they wanted an ‘adult’ in the room. Now Baker is the Franchise QB for the Tampa Bay Bucs after playing for the Panthers and the Rams during a 2 year sabbatical. He never gave up. He never lost sight of who he was,” added RGIII.
Mayfield found an opportunity in Tampa Bay in 2023, leading the team to a playoff win against the Philadelphia Eagles that very year. Now, in his second year in Cigar City, he has set career records in passing touchdowns, passing yards, yards per attempt, and passer rating. RGIII highlighted all of this in his post.
“This year he threw for a career high in TD passes, passing yards, yards per attempt and Passer Rating and has the Bucs in the playoffs right now. Turns out he was the “adult” in the room and Cleveland is still searching for their Franchise QB,” he wrote.
The Cleveland Browns tried to destroy Baker Mayfield’s NFL career and reputation after he helped them end the NFL’s longest post season drought and win their first playoff game in 26 years.
They said they wanted an “adult” in the room.
Now Baker is the Franchise QB for the… pic.twitter.com/PvNsWwaItT
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 30, 2024
The Browns’ Watson experiment blew up right in their faces, both on and off the field. Talk about a poetic justice!
However, the Buccaneers aren’t locked into a playoff spot yet. They are currently leading the NFC South with one more win than their biggest competition, the Atlanta Falcons.
But the Falcons, led by rookie QB Michael Penix Jr., still hold the head-to-head record tiebreaker. So, if the Bucs were to lose their season finale against the New Orleans Saints and the Falcons win theirs against the Panthers, Mayfield’s team will be out.
