It’s not exactly a secret that Baker Mayfield didn’t leave the Cleveland Browns on the best of terms this summer.
He had his high moments over the last four years, but in the end, things were on the downturn by the time the 2021 season was completed.
Things seemed to come to a head when he asked to be traded after someone in the Browns front office was quoted as saying the team preferred an “adult” at quarterback.
After months of attempting to do so, Cleveland finally traded him to the Carolina Panthers in July, giving him an opportunity to start anew and repair his reputation.
It makes some wonder what types of issues Mayfield may have had with his former teammates that haven’t been reported.
According to All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett, Mayfield sent a text recently, but Garrett didn’t reciprocate.
“He said he appreciated the time we got to spend together and getting to know each other and growing together,” Garrett told cleveland.com in a one-on-one interview last week. “I really I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really have much to say and I didn’t know how reply to it, so I didn’t.”
He also said there were “some disagreements” and that he’s “not mad at the guy,” but that he didn’t know how to reply.
Mayfield And Garrett Perhaps Didn’t Have Big Problems, But They Didn’t Mesh Very Well Either
According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, the signal-caller and defensive end had something of a disconnect during their four seasons as teammates, and it had something to do with their personalities.
While Mayfield is outspoken and the type who wears his emotions on his sleeves for better or worse, Garrett has been more of a low-key teammate who leads more by example.
One strain in their relationship came in 2019 after Garrett’s infamous on-the-field incident when he struck Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mason Rudolph with his own helmet.
Another look at Myles Garrett smashing his own helmet into Mason Rudolph's head pic.twitter.com/Aq57iW5Ird
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 15, 2019
Mayfield criticized Garrett for the incident while on national TV by telling Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews that what he did was “inexcusable” and that it “hurt the team”, which created some hard feelings between the two.
Baker Mayfield just straight up buried Myles Garrett in the post game interview with Erin Andrews. #PITvsCLE #TNF pic.twitter.com/CQ6dH7j1oH
— joe schiavi (@ScoundrelPrez) November 15, 2019
Then last season, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. left the Browns, presumably because of Mayfield, which left Garrett complaining that Browns management didn’t take into consideration how anyone else on the team felt about the situation.
By The End, Both Wanted A Change
Cabot wrote that Garrett’s helmet incident and Mayfield’s response to it is ultimately what caused the main fault line in their relationship.
After Garrett served his six-game suspension following the incident, Mayfield reportedly told him he wanted him to remain on the team.
There appeared to be a truce between the two for a while, but the way last season transpired ripped the proverbial scab off the wound and made it even worse.
Recently, Mayfield made what seemed like an incendiary comment about the Browns’ upcoming Week 1 matchup against the Panthers.
Garrett insisted he didn’t have a problem with it, although there’s no way of knowing for sure how he really feels about his former QB if he isn’t willing to reveal his true sentiments about him.
Now, both are ex-teammates, and any issues they may have had with each other will be water under the bridge, except for perhaps this Sunday.
NEXT: Browns Nation News And Notes (9/9/22)
