Browns Digest

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield Shows Love For Cleveland Browns Fans

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick by the Browns reflected on his time in Cleveland on a recent podcast appearance

Spencer German

Sep 22, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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Despite an unceremonious ending to his time in Cleveland, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield still thinks fondly of Browns fans who supported him during the first four years of his career.

In a recent appearance on the CasaDeKlub podcast – hosted by legendary Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber – Mayfield took a moment to shout out Browns fans when talking about what a Super Bowl would mean to the city.

"If the Browns won a Super Bowl, the city needs to have the National Guard there for riots," Mayfield said.

Mayfield is speaking from experience, as he reflected on his first taste of how passionate Browns fans can be, recalling the unforgettable Thursday night football matchup against the New York Jets in 2018, when the No. 1 overall pick led Cleveland to a comeback win and unlocked Bud Light beer fridges across the city.

"My first example was going in on Thursday night, the first game they won in two years. Like it was, wild. There were parties for two days."

Browns fans certainly remember that faithful night fondly. Not only because it was – as Mayfield said – the first game the franchise had won in nearly two years, but also because it left many supporters believing the organization had finally found it's franchise quarterback.

That all came to an end after the 2021 season where Mayfield regressed while playing through an injured shoulder. In the offseason that followed Cleveland pursued current quarterback Deshaun Watson, trading three first round picks to the Houston Texans as part of a package for his services. Later that summer, they traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers.

Despite playing the best football of his career at the moment for Tampa Bay, Mayfield still clearly thinks highly of the fanbase that used to support him.

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Spencer German

SPENCER GERMAN

Spencer German is a contributor to the Northeast Ohio cluster of sites, including Cavs Insider, Cleveland Baseball Insider and most notably Browns Digest. He also works as a fill-in host on Cleveland Sports Radio, 92.3 The Fan, one of the Browns radio affiliate stations in Cleveland. Despite being a Cleveland transplant, Spencer has enjoyed making Northeast Ohio home ever since he attended college locally at John Carroll University, where he graduated in 2013.

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