CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is going to say what is on his mind and not hold back on offering his opinions, even if that means calling out a teammate.
Following Tuesday’s minicamp practice at team headquarters in Berea, Mayfield was asked about the situation with running back Duke Johnson Jr., who missed all of the voluntary workouts and continued to demand a trade from the Browns.
Well, Mayfield’s criticism was not well received by everybody, including 2 Live Crew’s “Uncle Luke.”
Married to Johnson Jr.’s agent, Kristin Campbell, Luther Campbell did not hold back when ripping the second-year quarterback.
“&*%! Baker Mayfield for saying that dumb $*^@ about Duke Johnson,” Campbell tweeted after hearing the comments about Johnson Jr. “I guarantee you be the one to divide this locker room up. You are not in Texas at Cracker Barrel.”
Mayfield took exception to Johnson Jr.’s trade request because he feels the Browns could be on the verge of something special and does not want to distract from the work being done to prepare the team for the 2019 season.
“It’s self-inflicted,” Mayfield said. “It is what it is. It’s not awkward for anybody else in this building.
“That’s something that we’ve been dealing with for a while. If we have guys that want to be here, they’ll show that, they’ll voice that. 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. You can get out of the way or you can join us. so it is what it is.”
And while Mayfield’s comments did not sit well with Campbell, one of his newest teammates, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., found it refreshing that the quarterback is willing to put himself out there and speak his mind.
“I know that I’m always going to back him,” Beckham Jr. said earlier in the week. “Right, wrong, indifferent, the whole T.O. joke, ‘that’s my quarterback.’ That’s my guy. Baker was a friend, a brother to me before I got on this team. And now, for him to be my quarterback, I’m always going to back him.
“For him to speak his mind, it’s always good for the leader of your team to kinda have that and everybody follow that lead. If he steers off, this team’s here to guide him on the right path, but I don’t see him really doing anything too wrong. He speaks his mind. Freedom of speech, you have a right to your own opinion. That’s what he does, and I personally love it.”
