BEREA, Ohio — That went (not so) well.
Every Wednesday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield holds his weekly pre-game press conference in the locker room following practice, and while he likes to joke with reporters and is honest with his answers, this time around was a little different.
After a heated exchange with Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi of TheLandOnDemand.com, Mayfield prematurely ended the press conference and walked back to his locker, but not before letting out an expletive-laden opinion about Grossi as he left the podium.
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Shortly after the locker room was closed off to the media, Mayfield issued a pair of tweets trying to clarify the incident.
“Everybody wants to hear the truth until they actually get it,” Mayfield wrote. “I am who I am and always have been. Don’t call it emotional when it’s convenient, and then, passion when it fits. I care about winning, so yeah, I’m frustrated.
“If I was to act like it’s okay to lose, then y’all would say that I’ve gotten complacent. My sense of urgency is at an all-time high, and if I offend anybody along the way…that’s too bad.”
The line of questioning that had Mayfield upset was in regard to the two-minute drive after a blocked field goal late in the second quarter of last Sunday’s 27-13 loss at the New England Patriots. The Browns moved the ball from their own 16-yard line to the 39, but a sack for a 10-yard loss and false start penalty on Justin McCray turned a first-and-10 into a second-and-25.
Although the offense was behind the sticks, the Browns were able to exhaust the first-half clock.
“When the penalty happened and we’re behind the chains…No, stop saying, ‘but,’” Mayfield said. “I just told you the clock was running and we had a penalty. You want to give them the ball back? No. You don’t play, you don’t know it. That’s just plain and simple.
“Was I happy with the drive? No, we didn’t score points. It’s the dumbest question you could ask. What? Jesus, Tony.”
A season full of promise with Mayfield’s successes leading the offense and the acquisition of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has gotten off to a rocky 2-5 start, which has the Browns three games in back of the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North Division standings heading into Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.
In his first seven starts this year, Mayfield completed 132 of his 229 attempts (57.6 percent) for 1,690 yards and six touchdowns against a league-leading 12 interceptions. Additionally, Mayfield has been sacked 21 times for 171 lost yards.
In 2018, Mayfield was sacked 25 times through 14 games and lost 173 yards on those negative plays.
“I can continue to be more vocal and harp on the little details,” Mayfield said when asked about how he, as a captain, plans to increase accountability within the locker room. “I talked about it after the game, translating it to Sundays to where it comes time on Sunday, they’re not even thinking about it.
“It’s second nature, they carry it over and it’s not even a question.”