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Baker Mayfield Has Browns' Game Circled on His Calendar for Revenge
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- Baker Mayfield Has Browns' Game Circled on His Calendar for Revenge
It's been four years since Baker Mayfield left the Cleveland Browns , but they are still squarely in his crosshairs.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, and the Browns' first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft , admitted he has their game circled on his calendar even five-plus weeks out.
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Mayfield, of course, was the No. 1 overall selection by the Browns eight years ago, chosen four spots ahead of cornerback Denzel Ward. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers on July 22, 2022, kicking off a year-long journey that eventually landed him with the Buccaneers.
Baker Mayfield Has His Date With the Browns Circled
Mayfield and the Browns shared some good times. He's still the only Cleveland quarterback to win a playoff game since the franchise was reinstated in 1999, and he finished second in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2018.
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But the notorious chip on Mayfield's shoulder won't let him dwell on that, and he made clear he's looking for revenge against his former team — and seems to want extra measure of revenge against Todd Monken , his offensive coordinator in 2019 who now is Cleveland's head coach.
"First home game. Week 2. Cleveland," Mayfield said on the "4th and South" podcast, hosted by former Browns wideout Jarvis Landry and longtime NFL running back Leonard Fournette. "[I'm] about that action, boss.
"I only played four years in Cleveland. It felt like forever."
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Not only is Mayfield fired up about going against his former team, but he is excited to do so at his new home.
"[Tampa] is home now," Mayfield said "It's time to show [the Browns] which home is better."
Baker Mayfield Reflects on His Time in Cleveland
Mayfield had a solid tenure in Northeast Ohio. He went 29-30 as a starter in his four seasons there with a 92-56 touchdown-to-interception ratio — and he's clearly landed on his feet since.
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But Mayfield also acknowledged the toxicity that permeated the Cleveland locker room. He thought the Browns were on the rise when he arrived, and that proved true: the team went 11-5 and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round.
"The culture really was starting to change," Mayfield said. "Some things you can't change in a building, but you can change the locker room, and they did a good job of building that."
Still, that season turned out to be Mayfield's peak in Cleveland, and in hindsight, it was no accident the Browns couldn't push further.
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"It was eye-opening to me to see it wasn't just about football," Mayfield said. "It wasn't just about how do we win. There were a lot of people involved, and not everybody was trying to help us win. Not everyone was trying to do their part and their role.
"There were a lot of ups and downs, but a lot of downs."
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Aug 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
