Baker Mayfield appeared on ESPN’s Get Up on Friday morning with former NFL head coach Rex Ryan to discuss his handling of critics and squash his beef with Ryan.
“It comes back on … doing my job the best I can, not worrying about the outside stuff, not replying to you. Just doing my job and doing what really matters, being a quarterback,” he said.
Mayfield’s relationship with critics throughout the season has been tumultuous. Multiple times throughout the season he reacted poorly to negative feedback. In response to Ryan calling him “overrated” after week 3, Mayfield responded, “If you don’t wear orange and brown, you don’t matter, and Rex Ryan doesn’t have any colors right now for a reason.”
Mayfield and the Browns struggled throughout the year, finishing with a 6-10 record, something Mayfield describes as a “humbling experience.” He threw for 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, which ranks last in touchdown to interception ratio.
“Let’s just be honest, I put my foot in my mouth a lot this past year,” Mayfield said. “I’m going to internalize that.”
Mayfield went on to explain that the focus needs to shift to winning games rather than arguing with the media: “That’s what the focus needs to be about, what can I do to help this team win. … What can I do to make our franchise better, head in the right direction, do the things of why I was picked in that spot [No. 1 overall] and make it happen.”