Robbins Nest
By Lenn Robbins
What should be Baker Mayfield’s moniker?
Baker the (Insincere) Apology Mayker. Baker Mayday. Missed Maykers Mark. Baby Mayker. Baker Blabber.
No need to decide right now.
Based on Mayfield’s impressive immaturity rap sheet, if none of those nicknames suffice, the Cleveland Browns quarterback will provide many more opportunities for ridicule.
He’s a Mistake Mayker.
Mayfield’s most recent, how do we say this – lack of judgment; narcissistic rambling – occurred earlier this week. He threw shade at Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones.
Make no mistake. Mayfield shows a skill set that could make him one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks. And his fiery persona is cheered in Cleveland, although not necessarily in the Browns locker room. (We’ll get to that shortly.)
There’s no disputing that Johnson has the makeup of a franchise quarterback, if not the face of the franchise.
And there’s no disputing this either: One can’t make camp on the 50-yard line when it comes to the 24-year-old Texan.
Long, long-suffering Browns fans are naming their pets (and children) after Mayfield, never a good idea. Cleveland is swooning over their fiery QB.
But around the league, and especially here in New York, fans hope the petulant passer gets sandwiched by Quinnen Williams and Leonard Williams when Gang Green hosts the Browns in a few weeks at MetLife.
Maybe the Giants can pull a page out of Gregg Williams’ playbook and take out a bounty on Mayfield, payable to any Jets defender that hits the Browns’ QB with the force that an Arkansas police officer did in 2017. (We’ll get to that shortly, too).
After Mayfield was quoted in a GQ magazine article as saying, “I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones. It blows my mind.’’ He immediately turned to the time dishonored tradition of claiming he was quoted out of context.
Mayfield said he reached out to Jones to clear the air. It’s not certain if there was an apology but Mayfield’s mea culpas often are disingenuous. (We’ll get to that shortly, as well.)
Mayfield also shaded his former teammate Duke Johnson, who requested a trade after the Browns signed Kareem Hunt last season.
“Obviously, he’s going to handle his stuff how he wants, but you’re either on this train or you’re not — it’s moving,” Mayfield told reporters. “You can get out of the way or you can join us.”
That led to several Browns veterans explaining to Baker that this is not how business is conducted in the NFL. Cleveland native and former Browns WR Cecil Shorts III said Mayfield made a “young guy mistake.”
Mayfield reportedly listened to the Browns veterans, who know better, but stuck by his filleting of Johnson. Perhaps some of Mayfield’s teammates also might take a little pleasure in their QB getting tattooed in MetLife.
As a rookie, Mayfield decided he’s also an authority on the job machinations of the NFL. When coach Hue Jackson took a job with the rival Bengals after being fired by the Browns, Mayfield refused to shake hands after a 35-20 victory.
Former Jets lineman Damien Woody crushed Mayfield in a Tweet, saying the Browns QB needs to grow up. Needs to grow up. Young guy mistake. Not the first time.
Mayfield was stripped of his Oklahoma captaincy for the Senior Day game after turning to the Kansas bench and grabbing his crouch in a previous game.
He planted the Oklahoma flag in the Ohio Stadium field after leading the Sooners to a 31-16 win. Mayfield later apologized for his errant green thumb.
“They’re a great team and a great program,’’ Mayfield said two days later, reportedly after being admonished by Oklahoma officials. “I didn’t mean it to be disrespectful at all.”
Yet in the same GQ article in which Mayfield’s comments allegedly were taken out of context, he said the Ohio apology had no sincerity. “Zero,’’ the Insincere Apologist said. “Absolutely not.”
And then there was the time in February of 2017 when Mayfield was arrested in Arkansas for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, fleeing and resisting arrest. Man did that Arkansas officer sack Mayfield.
Mayfield later said of the incident it was a “rude awakening to responsibility and accountability.”
Apparently, there was no Maywakening. He continues to act and speak like a child.
“I think he’s a great player,’’ Jones told reporters in response to Mayfield’s remarks. “He can throw it and I enjoy watching him play.’’
Bet ya Jones wouldn’t mind seeing Gang Green work Mayfield over. Bet ya a lot of folks in the NFL feel that way.