There’s nothing to talk about with Baker Mayfield until Week 1

Why are people talking about Baker Mayfield’s practices?

This may come as a surprise, but I really don’t care about how Baker Mayfield is doing as a member of the Carolina Panthers. I’m interested as a fan of the sport to see how he does, as I love the sport. I follow a lot of storylines every year, and Mayfield’s stint in Carolina could be very interesting.

That’s as a football fan though, as a Cleveland Browns opinion writer, I don’t see the need to bring up how he’s being perceived in Carolina. Which, to be fair has been pretty well received as of late. The team’s beat writers, however, are documenting Mayfield’s first week of practices like they were covering the Panthers full time.

Seeing people from Cleveland outlets covering his practices is confusing, as it has nothing to do with the Browns; outside of why Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah didn’t claim the No. 6 jersey for 2022. His reasoning is actually pretty telling, as Owusu-Koramoah continues to dispel the claims that Mayfield was disliked, explaining why he didn’t claim his old college number;

"I just wanted to respect Baker. Give it a year more or less. Have that number upheld. He’s a noble guy with phenomenal character so I want people to enjoy that jersey. I want people to still honor that jersey and all that it’s meant for the city."

Baker Mayfield only matters from now on when he’s actually news worth

Like with past players in Johnny Manziel, Josh Gordon, Joe Thomas or anyone else from the world of Cleveland sports, Mayfield is not a relevant topic of conversation. Not until he does something worth talking about. If he gets cut in Week 2, we’ll talk about it. If he wins the MVP or a Super Bowl, we’ll talk about it.

If he shows up to camp…that’s news?

We appreciate Mayfield and his contributions to the team, and I can safely say I am no fan of the current starter, but I see no reason to talk about every little thing Mayfield is doing in Carolina. I’m not going to follow him like some guys.

I will say this, come Week 1, yeah, we’re going to talk about him insufferably, so be ready for that. Until then, we’re focusing on the Browns as a whole. Maybe we’ll talk about some guys who can help the squad, some guys who may get cut, and where they could end up, but that’s par for the course.

As for what Mayfield has to drink in his morning coffee while rolling up to practice? Gonna have to go elsewhere for that.