BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – While Odell Beckham Jr.’s days with the Browns appear to be numbered following a social media stunt pulled by Beckham’s father Tuesday, quarterback Baker Mayfield is willing – at least publicly – mend what appears to be a torched bridge.
The Browns’ quarterback took the high road Wednesday afternoon, a day after Beckham’s father posted an 11-minute video titled “Odell Beckham is Always Open for the Cleveland Browns in 2021.”
Beckham was sent home and excused from practice Wednesday while executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry spoke with Beckham’s representatives to work out what would come next.
“I'm prepared to do whatever,” Mayfield said. “If he's back, then we will work through it and do whatever it takes. I can put my ego and pride to the side to win because that's all I care about is winning, but if not, we'll roll with the guys we have out there.”
Beckham could be released, making him a free agent should he clear waivers. With the NFL’s trade deadline having expired Tuesday at 4 p.m. eastern, all players are subject to waivers.
Any team that would claim Beckham would assume what remains on his contract, which for this year includes another $8-plus million in guaranteed money, but the final two years are not guaranteed, meaning he could be cut in March without penalty.
Mayfield, who has yet to hear from Beckham himself, admitted he was taken aback by the post, as well as the responses that Beckham Sr. wrote to comments below it.
“I’ve had conversations with his dad before, man to man, face to face,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “I was pretty surprised by the video and the intentions and the feelings behind it. I’d be lying if I said otherwise, but hurt? Nah, I’m good. I’ll be alright.”
One of the accusations Beckham Sr. made was that Mayfield was deliberately not throwing his son the ball.
Mayfield disputed that Wednesday.
“Deliberately not throwing the ball to an extremely talented player that I did a lot of work with, that’s an opinionated statement. I’ll say that,” Mayfield said.
Mayfield doesn’t believe there are deeper problems within the locker room.
“They know where my heart’s at,” Mayfield said. “They know exactly what I do on a daily basis, how much I care for these guys. I don’t have to verbalize that specifically because they can tell that, how I work and everything like that, so I’m not worried about that part.
“To me it’s about making sure that we’re just all on the same page. I want to hear everybody’s feelings about it. I want to know that. I want to understand if somebody’s going through it, and they don’t understand the situation. We need to have that open dialogue because obviously this is one of those things where it wasn’t communicated well enough to where it’s gotten to this point and I’m here for these guys. That’s what I do.”