Baker Mayfield is fiery to a fault. It’s sometimes problematic. It’s always entertaining.
Most recently, Mayfield reportedly said to Bills preseason sideline reporter Cynthia Frelund of a looming game against the Browns in his first regular-season game as not a Brown, “I’m going to fuck them up.”
She reluctantly made the disclosure, in a roundabout way, during a visit to the Around The NFL podcast, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. After the Bills-Panthers preseason game, Frelund spoke to Mayfield.
“I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m so excited to see you, like, go kick some butt,’ I didn’t say that word,” she said. “‘Go kick some butt, especially Week One, I like cannot wait.’ And he uses some expletives and I was like, ‘I just hope you’re like ready.’ He was like, ‘I’m gonna bleep them up.’”
She then confirmed that word she omitted had four letters and started with an F.
It’s not a surprise. Mayfield, even if he wasn’t habitually feisty, would reasonably be upset about how he was treated. They told him after the 2021 season that he’s their guy for 2022. Then they told him that he’s their guy, unless they find someone better. Then they leaked to Chris Mortensen of ESPN that they want an adult in the room at quarterback. Then they traded for Deshaun Watson and gave him a five-year, $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract.
So, yeah, he should be pissed. And no one should be surprised by what he said.
And no one should be surprised if he does what he said he’s going to do. He may even go back to Cleveland for a Progressive commercial during which he plants a Panthers flag at midfield.