Baker Mayfield is entering his third season in the NFL with a different approach, but not everyone is convinced that the move from the Cleveland Browns quarterback is genuine.
At the top of that list is Speak for Yourself host Marcellus Wiley, who put Mayfield on blast during an episode of the FS1 talk show.
“Baker Mayfield, it’s time for you to pick a side,” Wiley said. “Which Baker Mayfield are you? Because when you came out balling your rookie year, commercials everywhere, chugging beers and all that stuff. All those things were fine because it fit who you were. But then I started to realize that Baker Mayfield, when he struggles, ain’t have the same energy. All of a sudden ‘I want my actions to speak for me and not my words.’ And all of a sudden ‘all you haters please leave me alone and let me go. I throw in the towel and it’s going to be a silent offseason.'”
Baker Mayfield is paper thin.
“When everything is going well or the bar is really low everything is fine, but when the bar is higher & he trips up on it, everybody chill. Everybody be quiet… Nah Baker, pick a side.” — @marcelluswiley
While speaking to reporters this offseason from his Austin, Texas home, Mayfield revealed he wanted to change his approach this year, limiting the media he does and not being so brash. Entering an important third season with a new regime in Cleveland, Mayfield needs to show he’s a long-term solution at quarterback.
“I think there’s been a lot of learning throughout this process,” Mayfield told reporters. “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. It is time to do our thing, instead of talking about it. 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’m happy to get back to those roots.”
Marcellus Wiley: I’m Not Feeling Baker Mayfield
Wiley isn’t buying the tamer Mayfield and thinks his actions needs to be consistent, regardless of his play on the field. Wiley referenced the MC Lyte song “Paper Thin” when calling out the quarterback.
“I’m like, what happened to the dude with all the smoke? What happened to the flag? What happened to the grab? What happened to all that? You know what happened to it? This dude is paper thin. MC Lyte told me about this in the ’80s. Dude is paper thin. Dude is selling wolf tickets, like E-40 said in the ’90s.
“Here’s a guy where everything is going well, or the bar is really low, everything is fine. But when the bar is higher and all of a sudden he trips up on it he’s asking everyone to chill. Nah Baker — pick a side. I’m not feeling you — I’m not on your side.”
Baker Mayfield Has Been Putting in Work in Offseason
Mayfield made plenty of noise last offseason coming off his stellar rookie year, with multiple magazine interviews, commercials and beer-chugging highlights. But he had a disappointing second season where he passed for 3,827 yards, 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, ranking next-to-last in both passer rating (78.8) and completion percentage (59.4%).
Mayfield hasn’t just been talking about making changes — he’s been putting in work. This offseason Mayfield underwent a large body transformation, leaving his dad bod of the early offseason in the dust.
Mayfield has been sharing intermittent highlights of his workouts, showing he is fully focused on turning things around in Year 3 with his future in Cleveland possibly on the line.
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Analyst Rips ‘Paper Thin’ Browns QB Baker Mayfield