Paul Finebaum: 'Punk' Baker Mayfield is 'a poor man’s Johnny Manziel'

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum made his weekly appearance on ESPN Cleveland's "The Really Big Show" on Friday and left no question about what he thinks of the Browns' QB1 this winter. 

"I got into it with him in college," Finebaum said of Mayfield, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "He came after me on Twitter. And I thought he was a punk then and nothing has changed. He is a poor man’s Johnny Manziel. I think Cleveland ought to get rid of him. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I think the Browns are wasting their time with this guy."

Such comparisons aren't entirely fair to Mayfield, who played through much of the 2021 season with a torn labrum and fractured bone at the top of the humerus that will require him to have surgery on his non-throwing shoulder later this month. Manziel flamed out of the entire NFL after only two seasons, while Mayfield has merely underperformed in two of his first four campaigns ahead of entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. 

"Clickbait," Mayfield tweeted Thursday about the story produced by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "You and many other Cleveland local media continue to be drama stirring reporters with no sources or facts. Don’t put words in my mouth so you can put food on your table. I’m not your puppet." 

For what it's worth, Stefanski told reporters Friday he still has a "good relationship" with Mayfield.