CLEVELAND — There is little time to rest in the National Football League, particularly for starting quarterbacks tasked with rejuvenating a franchise that has known nothing but struggle since returning to the NFL in 1999.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield got married to Emily Wilkinson, and the two set off for their honeymoon in the days following the ceremony. However, as training camp draws near, Mayfield is doing what he can to prepare his body for the rigors of an NFL season, even if that means taking time away from the honeymoon.
Mrs. Mayfield shared a photo on her Instagram story saying, “Don’t worry Cleveland Browns nation…he’s still getting his work in, even on the honeymoon.”
Following that initial post, Mayfield shared two photos on Instagram enjoying a nice beach-side workout area.
From a weighted bag to kettlebells, battle ropes and the exercise bike, Mayfield seemed to make it quite the working vacation.
Along with the photos, Mayfield posted a caption containing a song lyric from Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK).
“Gamble with my life yeah…no invites yeah…keep my circle tight yeah,” Mayfield quoted MGK.
Mayfield’s post generated more than 150,000 likes in just 24 hours and drew comments from Wilkinson, MGK and actor Mark Wahlberg, the latter of whom the newlyweds had a pre-wedding training session with recently.
After taking over the first-team offense in the second quarter of a come-from-behind win over the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland in Week 3, Mayfield completed 310 of his 486 attempts (63.8 percent) for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
Although Mayfield does not get official credit for the victory over the Jets because he came on in relief of an injured Tyrod Taylor, the first-year quarterback guided the Browns to seven wins and the greatest single-year turnaround in franchise history.
Individually, Mayfield set franchise records for the most passing touchdowns and yards by a rookie, and his 3,725 yards rank as the sixth-best single season in team history, regardless of years of service. Additionally, Mayfield had three of the top five passing yards games by a rookie, as well as the fourth-most accurate season of any Browns quarterback ever.
With new Browns coach Freddie Kitchens calling the plays as the interim offensive coordinator during the second half of the 2018 season, Mayfield completed 180 of his 263 attempts (68.4 percent) for 2,254 yards and 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
The Browns open training camp at their Berea headquarters on Thursday, July 25 and the 2019 regular season against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, September 8.
