Baker Mayfield went straight to Daniel Jones to defuse the controversy between the two quarterbacks.
In his meeting with the media Wednesday, the Browns quarterback reiterated his frustration with how Tuesday’s GQ feature represented his thoughts on the Giants rookie. Mayfield claims that the conversation with the reporter took place in April and that Jones was not the focus of his frustrations.
“What people didn’t realize is that the conversation entailed of me saying that I was surprised I was drafted No. 1 overall, too,” Mayfield told reporters Wednesday. “And then me going on a rant after that about QB evaluation and then my frustration from recruiting processes and stuff. It’s very well documented my thoughts on all of that.”
In the magazine, Mayfield said he “could not believe” the Giants would spend the No. 6 pick on Jones, who had a 17-19 record at Duke.
“Some people overthink it,” Mayfield was quoted as saying. “That’s where people go wrong. They forget you’ve gotta win. … Either you have a history of winning and being that guy for your team, or you don’t.”
Mayfield was criticized for taking shots at a fellow NFL quarterback, and he raced to Instagram on Tuesday, calling the article “clickbait.” Mayfield said Wednesday he reached out to Jones to explain what happened.
“It had nothing to do specifically about Daniel, about the winning and stuff. I reached out to Daniel because it got way out of hand and I wanted him to know how I felt,” Mayfield said. “I’ve heard nothing but great things from Saquon (Barkley) and Sterling Shepard, guys that have a lot of respect for him and I respect their opinions.
“I wanted to clear the air with him. It is what it is. … That’s the only reason I addressed it [Tuesday], to me that came back on my character. I don’t care about a lot of opinions, whether you like me or not, but that looked like my character was way out of line and that’s the only reason I addressed it.”