Todd Monken knows the Cleveland Browns will get Baker Mayfield’s best shot, whether their former quarterback calls it a revenge game or not.
Cleveland heads to Tampa Bay in Week 2 for a reunion with the quarterback it once drafted No. 1 overall to turn the franchise around. Monken knows Mayfield’s competitive streak firsthand, having served as the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019.
With the meeting with Mayfield approaching, Monken made clear that his respect for Mayfield extends well beyond the history between the quarterback and his former team.
“He’s a great football player and highly competitive. It’s irrespective of playing the Browns, he’s very prideful, he wants to play good football and he’s a great football player. He can only speak to having it circled, I can only speak to what I think of him as a player and how competitive he is,” Monken said. “There’s very few people that I’ve been around that like football more than Baker Mayfield.”
Mayfield acknowledged the obvious when asked about facing Cleveland. But with the Buccaneers preparing for their home opener, he kept the focus on getting back on track.
“I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that,” Mayfield said of Week 2’s matchup with the Browns. “It’s the next opponent. Cleveland happens to be the next opponent — our home opener. So, yeah. Have a bad taste in our mouth, looking forward to getting it out.”
“It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one,” he added. “I’ve said that to you guys over the years — it doesn’t matter who it is, the most important one is the next one. And we’ve got — I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. And we’ve got to move forward.”
Baker Mayfield Has Not Forgotten His Browns Exit
Mayfield gave Cleveland a reason to believe before the relationship unraveled. He helped lead the Browns to an 11-5 finish in 2020 and a road victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. It was Cleveland’s first postseason win since the 1994 season.
The Browns moved on in 2022, acquiring Deshaun Watson and giving him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers, beginning a stretch in which he would also spend time with the Los Angeles Rams before landing in Tampa Bay.
In January, Mayfield took aim at former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski after he landed the Atlanta Falcons job.
“Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage,” Mayfield wrote on X.
Cleveland has changed considerably since Mayfield’s final season. Monken now runs the team, and much of the roster has turned over. But Mayfield made certain the circumstances of his exit still matter to him.
Baker Mayfield Lands $165 Million Extension With Buccaneers
Mayfield enters the reunion with the long-term security that never materialized in Cleveland. The Buccaneers recently signed him to a three-year extension worth a reported $165 million, an average of $55 million per season. The agreement keeps Mayfield under contract through 2029 and makes him the highest-paid player in franchise history.
It is a substantial climb from the one-year $4 million deal he signed in 2023. Mayfield arrived in Tampa Bay needing to reestablish himself as a starter. He earned a three-year, $100 million contract after his first season and has now secured another commitment.
Across his first three seasons with the Buccaneers, Mayfield threw for 12,237 yards and 95 touchdowns while helping Tampa Bay win two division titles.
Meanwhile, the Browns have no semblance of stability at quarterback. Watson, who was intended to be Mayfield’s replacement, is coming off a disastrous Week 1 performance after nearly two years away due to injury. Monken said Watson will start against the Bucs.
Browns Send Message on Baker Mayfield Ahead of Reunion