As former first-round draft mates collide, Cleveland Browns star CB Denzel Ward looks to bait his old friend into a costly mistake and derail the quarterback’s high-stakes reunion.
A lot has changed with the Cleveland Browns since Baker Mayfield last suited up as a member of the franchise in 2021. In fact, only two players even remain from the Mayfield era, in star CB Denzel Ward and safety Grant Delpit.
Ward, has a particularly unique connection to Mayfield because they both joined the Browns via the draft in the same year, 2018, as the No. 4 and No. 1 overall picks, respectively.
On Sunday, though, they'll go to battle for just the second time in their careers as opponents when the Browns take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ward expects Mayfield to be a little extra amped up for this one as he looks to beat his former team.
"Yeah, I'm sure it still motivates him," Ward said on Wednesday. "Baker a guy that feeds off of motivation, a lot of things, and I know he's competitive, and any game he's going to want to come in and do his best. But I'm sure he's definitely motivated for the game."
Mayfield's competitive nature is the thing everyone seems to remember about him the most. That goes for Browns head coach Todd Monken, as well, who briefly served as Mayfield's OC in Cleveland in 2019.
Given the tumultuous ending to his time with the Browns, which saw the franchise trade a haul of draft capital for current starter Deshaun Watson and later trade Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers, even Mayfield himself admitted he had this matchup circled on his calendar.
He's already played the Browns once since leaving Cleveland – during that short stint with Carolina when he opened up the 2022 with a loss to his former team. The difference is, though, this time Watson – the QB the franchise chose over him – will actually be starting opposite of him.
While Mayfield downplayed the matchup during his media availability this week, Ward knows it'll mean a little extra to his former teammate to get a win at his expense. Which is why he hopes to spoil Mayfield's quest for revenge.
"Yeah, Baker's an old friend of mine, a good friend of mine. And yeah, definitely any interception any week is always good, but definitely would enjoy getting one off of him this week," Ward admitted with a laugh. "But the main goal is to go in and win, but to get an interception is going to help us win. So hopefully I can go out there and help this team do that."
Ward may just get that opportunity. Aside from his passion, Mayfield has also been known to sometimes push the envelope on taking risks. At times, that can get him in trouble, line last week where he lost three fumbles in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and had an interception called back by a penalty. If he let's his emotions get the best of him Sunday, Ward may just get his wish.
"He's a gunslinger. He's going to throw the ball, take shots and try to make plays," the longest tenured member of the Browns said. "So we just got to be there tight in coverage and try to take that ball away and execute."
Ultimately, for Ward, there's no ill-will for his ex-teammate. Even Mayfield noted the fact that the team looks a lot different now and that he mostly remembers the good moments over the bad.
That includes Cleveland's unforgettable trip to the playoffs after the 2020 season, led by Mayfield, that culminated in a road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round. Ward remembers that yesr fondly as well. And, having only made the playoffs once since then, he admits he may have taken it for granted.
“That’s the NFL. It's tough, said Ward. "You make it there and you're like, ‘Oh yeah, we're about to do this every single year and make it, it's going to be easy.' But nothing's easy about the NFL. So every game is crucial and making it to the playoffs is tough, but we're capable and we're able to do it. So we got to work as hard as we can to get back there."
A win over the Bucs to avoid an 0-2 start would certainly help Cleveland's playoff hopes. A spiteful Mayfield surely has other plans, though.
