CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield is not afraid to speak his mind, and if there was any confusion about that heading into Sunday’s 35-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, the first-year signal-caller cleared that up in short order.
Mayfield and former Browns coach Hue Jackson, now a special assistant to Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, shared a brief exchange following the game, but the quarterback made the decision to have that meeting be a quick one.
“I do not have a problem with Baker saying anything like that,” Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens said Thursday. “The guy spoke what he felt to be true. I do not know when it became big news to speak the truth. If that is what he feels, then he should voice it.
“‘Hard Knocks’ is in here and everybody is looking for a story. He is giving you a story. He is telling you the truth. Everybody wants an inside look of the truth. Well hell, that is the truth. We go down to Cincinnati and arguably one of the biggest wins -- I know there are people in that locker room that have never gotten on a plane to come back here on a road game with a victory, so they did not know that feeling until then -- but suddenly, it is big news if we do not want to turn it into 'Kumbaya' after the game and turn it into fist bumps and hugs.”
Kitchens went on to say he did not believe Mayfield “disrespected anybody on what he said,” especially because the first-year quarterback has given the Browns (4-6-1) plenty of reason to believe that the postseason is still possible.
“He spoke what he felt,” Kitchens said. “I would say that I do not have a problem with it. At some point, everybody is going to realize that it does not matter what anybody else says. It does not matter what anybody says in Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh or anywhere. It is about what is said here.
“More importantly, it is about our fans, our organization and our locker room most importantly. It is about what those guys in there feel, and when they start believing that, which they do, then you have something, and I think that is the point we are getting to.”
When pressed for why he did not want to talk with his former coach following the game, Mayfield sounded hurt by Jackson’s decision to join another AFC North Division team. Then, on Monday, Mayfield responded to an ESPN First Take Instagram post ripping him by calling Jackson “fake.”
“I promise you this, Baker is not going to blow smoke up anybody’s (backside),” Kitchens said.
“If he said it, that is what he feels, and I am standing behind Baker Mayfield. I do not care about anyone who does not work in this building and what they think about what he said. I stand behind him and the players in this locker room.”
Since the coaching change, Mayfield has connected on 65 of his 88 attempts (73.8 percent) for 771 yards and nine touchdowns against just one interception.
“Baker has developed a good grasp of what we are trying to do offensively,” Kitchens said. “As we progress, it is a week-to-week game-plan type of thing. He has gotten a good handle on each game plan every week we have played. I expect nothing else this week.”
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