Myles Garrett: ‘There is no rivalry with Baker Mayfield’

While the marriage between the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t end well, there is no bad blood, at least from Myles Garrett. 

It was very apparent that the Cleveland Browns were ready to move on from quarterback Baker Mayfield at some point last season. When that point actually was is unknown, but the Browns were always going to look to upgrade the position in the offseason. Upgrade they did, when they traded for Deshaun Watson, knowing that he would miss a portion of time during the 2022 season.

Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers back in July and was named the starter on Monday afternoon. What’s even better for this situation is the fact that the Panthers host the Browns in Week 1 of the regular season on September 11. This couldn’t have been scripted any better, and no, the NFL is not scripted or rigged, so don’t even try to think that.

The app with feathers will be a wild one during that week as you will have Browns fans who have been ready to move on from the up-and-down quarterback play of Mayfield and the Baker Bros going back and forth leading up to the game through the game’s conclusion and likely a few days after that as well.

As for a rivalry or beef, as the kids say these days, amongst the Browns and Mayfield/the Panthers, there isn’t any. On Tuesday while talking to the media, both Mayfield and Myles Garrett were asked about the upcoming clash, because of course they were. Mayfield said the Week 1 matchup with mean something to him, while Garrett declined to involve himself in the drama. Instead, Garrett handled it diplomatically.

"“It’s my former teammate but there’s no rivalry there between me and him and there’s no rivalry between the Panthers and the Browns,” Garrett said. “Yes, he was here, but that doesn’t mean I have an added sense of urgency to get to him.”"

Garrett would “enjoy” a couple of sacks, but not just because it’s his former teammate. Now, even if he had some sort of beef or vendetta with Mayfield, why would he openly say that for the media to eat up and get every last ounce out of it?

There is a two-way street with Cleveland taking on Mayfield in Week 1; the fact that the latter knows the former’s defensive tendencies, as well as the former knowing how to fluster and frustrate the former No. 1 overall pick.

At the end of the day, the Browns moved on from Mayfield and now, he gets a fresh start with a new team and in a new, not as loaded conference. If you live in the Charlotte area and plan on attending the Week 1 showdown, please bring your choice of dip or salsa as the chip on Mayfield’s shoulder is only getting bigger. It would be great if Garrett and company smashed that chip and set a new Browns single-game sack record.