Getty Baker Mayfield and Emily Wilkinson
Baker Mayfield is looking trim, fit and fast as he prepares for his critical third season with the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns former No. 1 overall pick shared a highlight reel of his recent workouts in preparation for the season, shutting down any dad bod criticism that came shortly after the season ended. As he has for his entire career, Mayfield looks focused and inspired to shut down his detractors and churn out a big season.
Boat Picture of Baker Mayfield Goes Viral
A picture circulated in February showing a shirtless Mayfield posing next to NFLers Aaron Colvin, Alec Ogletree, Sterling Shepard and Saquon Barkley. Quickly, the internet put Mayfield on blast, shaming him for looking out of place next to his ripped buddies.
Barkley, a good friend of Mayfield, stood up for the quarterback via TMZ.
“He’s a quarterback, he’s not supposed to be shredded,” Barkley told the site. “We in off-season, he’s gonna have time to get his body right. He can throw the ball 80 yards. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Mayfield addressed the photo himself in jest on the Pardon My Take podcast.
“You know what shape I’m in right there? Vacation shape,” Mayfield said with a laugh. “It’s bloating from travel. That was the first day — I’ll say that. I look like [expletive].”
Mayfield is entering a crucial third season, with the Browns facing the decision to pick up his fifth-year option follow the year — which will be done for all first-round draft picks from his draft class this summer.
“There’s no doubt Year 3 is always a big year in these contracts,” Mayfield told reporters on a conference call earlier this offseason. “Timing-wise, everybody knows that. I’m not going to put any added pressure on myself. There’s no need for that, because if I win, good things will happen.
“That’s why quarterback is one of the positions that’s the hardest in sports—if I play better, our team is going to do better. I put that pressure on myself, so it doesn’t matter what year it is. I have to play better each year.”
Baker Mayfield Taking Different Approach to Offseason
After stirring up some MVP hype following a record-setting rookie year, Mayfield finished his second season in the NFL with 3,827 yards, 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, ranking next-to-last in both passer rating (78.8) and completion percentage (59.4%).
To put it kindly, it wasn’t what people expected when the Browns added Odell Beckham Jr. to the offense via a blockbuster trade. On top of that, the Browns QB was featured in a bevy of high-profile magazine articles and commercials. Mayfield is taking a different approach to this offseason.
“I have a different approach this year. I think everybody who has been interviewed on our team has hit the nail on the head over and over about this is time to work,” Mayfield said during a recent Zoom call with reporters. “It is time to do our thing, instead of talking about it. This is the first media thing I have done, just because there is no need to be talking about it. It is just time to go do it and right now, it is moving in silence, which is fine with me.
“That is how I used to do it before getting on a bigger stage, so I am happy to get back to those roots. Like I said earlier, get back to the fundamentals to where I can accomplish the goals when the season comes around.”
Mayfield’s approach has drawn praise from multiple teammates and his new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
“He’s done everything I’d expect from him as a starting quarterback,” Van Pelt said. “His work ethic is great. He jumps into other meetings that aren’t required, and he’ll sit in the receiver meetings when they have them and will sit in running back meetings from time to time, as well.”
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