TAMPA - Buccaneers starting quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters Wednesday he is channeling his energy into precise preparation rather than lingering resentment as the Cleveland Browns, the franchise that drafted him first overall in 2018 and traded him away in June 2022, visit Tampa for the Week Two matchup.
Mayfield acknowledged during an August podcast with former Cleveland teammate Jarvis Landry that the game was circled on his 2026 calendar. But with the week now here, the fourth-year Buccaneers starter struck a workmanlike tone.
“I think anytime there’s history between a franchise, coaching staff, anybody, there’s always…you want to come out on the winning side no matter what,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, it’s very different there, staff-wise and everybody, but yeah, I spent four years there. I’m going into Year Four here. I started my career there, a lot of ups and downs. For me, this week is [about] doing the little things right, continuing to just try and place the ball where it needs to go and obviously making the corrections I need to, ball security.”
Mayfield added: “Doing all the little things right. Taking it one day at a time and making sure you’re up on the little details. That goes back to just obviously not coming out on the right side of the game last week. I’m really focused on the small details. When you do that, good things will happen on Sunday. So for me, focus on that and then when the lights come on, you get out there and play and it’s time to let it loose.”
The Browns roster Mayfield once led bears little resemblance to the current squad. Cleveland has a completely new coaching staff, though General Manager Andrew Berry remains. Only defensive backs Grant Delpit and Denzel Ward are former teammates still on the roster. Mayfield’s Cleveland tenure included bright spots: 27 touchdowns as a rookie and the PFWA Rookie of the Year award, followed by an 11-5 season in 2020 in which he threw for 2,563 passing yards and 26 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. That team delivered the franchise’s first playoff win in more than a quarter-century, a 48-37 rout of the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
“With any experience, there’s ups and downs, good and bad,” Mayfield said. “Ultimately, you remember the good more so than the bad. First time having a playoff win since ‘94 there, and going on the road and doing it in Pittsburgh. A lot of good memories there, a lot of teammates that are friends for life. But like I said earlier, it’s a very different building now.”
Asked what he took from his time in Cleveland, Mayfield pointed to leadership over scheme. “Try to be the same person each and every day for the guys in the locker room, the people you work with, the staff that you’re around each day,” he said. “Some things are out of your control. If you try to get it fixed and you’re not worried about the football aspects of your job you’re probably letting some things slide and fall by the wayside. So I think controlling who I am each and every day, trying to lead the best way possible and control the offense, and ultimately win.”
Kickoff between the Buccaneers and Browns is set for Sunday in Tampa.