It's not often that a Week 2 non-conference game in the NFL is must-see television.
But that is exactly what the early-season clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns on September 20 will be.
The game will be especially emotional and personal for Bucs' quarterback Baker Mayfield, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Browns after Cleveland selected him first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
After what felt like an eternity without it, Mayfield brought the Browns stability at the game's most important position and even led Cleveland to a playoff victory over the team's archrival, the Pittsburgh Steelers .
However, the relationship between Mayfield and the Browns eroded after the 2021 season, when the team very publicly was attempting to trade for QB Deshaun Watson, who had recently accumulated about two dozen accusations of sexual misconduct, which eventually resulted in an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine from the league.
Still, the Browns were hell-bent on replacing Mayfield with Watson and let their franchise QB twist in the wind even after the trade was finalized. It was a humiliating ordeal for Mayfield that he didn't deserve, especially after playing through a torn labrum and other injuries for the Browns the previous year. It was one of the ugliest splits between a player and a team in quite some time.
The Browns being the Browns, the trade for Watson turned out to possibly be the worst in the history of sports. Watson was a shell of the player he had been with the Houston Texans before the trade,
And that's just talking about the rare occurrences of Watson actually taking the field for the Browns. Due to the suspension and a litany of injuries, Watson has only played in 19 games during his four seasons in Cleveland.
Not what the Browns expected after they fully guaranteed Watson $230 million after the trade.
You know what they say about karma.
Watching the Browns' downward spiral into total humiliation and irrelevance after throwing him away "like a piece of garbage" may be all the revenge Mayfield needs.
Nah. You know Mayfield wants to destroy the Browns when they play.
However, when speaking about the upcoming matchup against his former team, Mayfield took the high road.
For the most part.
Mayfield appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and spoke about playing against the Browns and the drawn-out competition between Watson and second-year QB Shedeur Sanders to be QB1.
He gave the standard answer about only wanting to win, but then added a little parting shot to remind the Browns he is in a better situation than they are.
"Honestly, it's just about winning. I couldn't care less about what's going on with the quarterback situation in their building. It's just about beating them and letting them know that I've found a home."
Mayfield can pretend there is no extra emotion in playing his former team, but his past comments about the game show it has been circled on his calendar for months.
A victory over Cleveland will give Mayfield the satisfaction of a man running into an ex, only to find out she has clearly downgraded with her new relationship.
