BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Myles Garrett wouldn’t take the Baker bait Tuesday.
A day after former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was named the starting quarterback by the Carolina Panthers, Garrett was asked about squaring off against Mayfield in Week 1.
“I didn’t really think about it, whether he won [the starting job] or not,” Garrett said. “I know that I have to play the Panthers. So, I’m happy that he won it. I don’t wish any ill upon him, but I wasn’t expecting to be looking at any other quarterback.”
The Browns traded Mayfield to Carolina in July, ending four months of drama after Cleveland acquired Deshaun Watson from the Texans and gave him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. Watson is now suspended of the first 11 weeks of the season following a disciplinary settlement with the NFL.
Mayfield took Browns management’s pursuit of Watson personally and posted a thank you/goodbye message on his social media accounts the night of their meeting with Watson in Houston back in March.
Monday, Mayfield admitted to reporters that the opener in Charlotte will mean something extra to him.
Garrett doesn’t share the same sentiment – at least publicly.
“He’s my former teammate but there’s no rivalry there between me and him,” Garrett said. “No rivalry there between the Panthers and the Browns. Yes, he was here but it doesn’t mean that I have an added sense of urgency to get to him. I want to play my best and whatever’s in the cards, that’s what’s it for me. If I can help my team win, if I can put them in the best position to win, I’m going to do that.
“And if I can get a couple of sacks along the way, I’d kind of enjoy that too.”
Garrett doesn’t think he or Mayfield will have an advantage come September 11, despite their familiarity with each other.
“I don't think it really matters,” Garrett said. “Just because, he has tendencies, I'm sure he likes to throw the ball in certain spots along the field. But he has different targets, he has a different line, so he's going to have to change as well. He has different coaches who are going to work with him on those things that they've seen that he likes to do.
“I'm sure we're going to see not a completely different Baker, but someone who's worked on some of his weaknesses and like I said, his tendencies, to be a more complete player and diversify himself.”
Garrett and Mayfield were both No. 1 overall picks in consecutive years, selected by the Browns to be cornerstones for the team that went a combined 4-44 over three seasons, including 0-16 during Garrett’s rookie 2017 season.
The two helped end the Browns playoff drought, which was the longest in the NFL at the time, after 18 years with an 11-5 season in 2020 that saw them clobber the rival Steelers, 48-37, in an AFC Wild Card game in Pittsburgh.