Former Cleveland Browns top pick downplays the revenge narrative, choosing maturity over malice as he faces the franchise that swapped him for a struggling Deshaun Watson.
The NFL loves a good revenge plot and one of the biggest ones takes center stage this weekend when the Cleveland Browns visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2.
That's because ex-Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has gone on to have a fruitful career with the Bucs after the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall decided to part ways with him in 2022 in favor of current starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Obviously, the Watson era hasn't gone so well in Cleveland, and with the embattled QB playing in the final true year of his deal, Sunday's matchup will potentially serve as one final glimpse at what could have been if the Browns hadn't decided to move on from Mayfield.
The 31-year-old, more mature QB isn't thinking about that, though, as the matchup approaches. He's just trying to treat it like another game.
"Doing all the little things right. Taking it one day at a time, making sure that you harp on little details," he said of his focus going into the game. "When you do that, good things will happen on Sundays. So for me, focusing on that, and then when the lights come on, you get out there and play; it's time to go."
Mayfield can downplay the matchup all he wants, but even he admitted earlier this year that he had this game circled.
"I think anytime there's history between a franchise, a coaching staff, anybody, you wanna come out on the winning side of that, no matter what," Mayfield added during his weekly media availability. "Obviously, it's very different there staff wise and everybody. Spent four years there, going into year four here. Started my career there. Lot of ups and downs."
Only two players remain on the Browns roster from Mayfield's four years with the franchise in Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit. Of course, the key decision-makers in moving on from him in favor of Watson, like GM Andrew Berry and team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, also remain in place.
Despite how it ended, Mayfield says he remembers the good times more than the bad.
"Ultimately, you remember the good more so than the bad," he said. "First time having a playoff win since 94 there, and going on the road and doing it in Pittsburgh. Lot of good memories there. Lot of teammates who are friends for life, but it's a very different building now."
While Mayfield's revenge may be a major story to fans, Monken agrees that inside their building, it's hard to muster any extra motivation for the the opposing QB, when most of his roster wasn't here during Mayfield's tenure.
"No, I don’t think so, asserted. "Who’s left? Denzel (Ward) and myself for one year. I mean, Grant (Delpit). But, you know, I don’t get into how a person feels. We all feel the way we feel about certain situations in our life. And I don’t blame him, just like he could never blame me for the way I feel about certain things. And listen, he’s so competitive, he wants to beat everybody he plays. This just happens to be one where I’m sure there’s a little bit there, but ultimately, he always wants to play well."
As he mentioned, Monken himself is one of the only other connections between the Browns and Mayfield at this point, with the former spending one season as the latter's OC in 2019. That season turned out to be arguably the worst on Mayfield's career, as he tossed a career-high 21 interceptions and the Browns went 6-10.
Ken Blaze via Imagn Images"Obviously, my year with Todd wasn't the best for the Browns in 2019. We were kinda all over the place," admitted Mayfield. "But Todd's obviously an aggressive play-caller, wants to spread the ball out – that's just his history and his background. Obviously known him for years, we'll see what happens, but for me it's going up against the defense and Rudy [Mike Rutenberg].
Monken couldn't speak to how things went down between the Browns and Mayfield after his one season with the franchise. He does wish he had done better by the former No. 1 overall pick, he also still admires his unflappable competitiveness.
"I’ve said it all along; I wish I had done a better job in ’19," said Monken. "I’ve said that a lot of times. You’ve got to own the things you can be better at as a coach. And I’m sure there’s certain things that, throughout the course of his life or career, he would look at the same way. Ultimately, I was not here for the rest of it, but I can just tell you that you want your players wired like Baker Mayfield."
