Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield sends fresh warning to Browns after loss to Bengals

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns suffered two different types of Week 1 losses on Sunday. 

While the Cincinnati Bengals earned a 33-27 home win over Tampa Bay, the Browns were largely non-competitive as they were blown out at the Jacksonville Jaguars to the tune of 34-10. Up next for the Buccaneers is a home game against none other than a Browns team that famously discarded Tampa Bay starting quarterback Baker Mayfield after the 2021 season. 

On Sunday, Mayfield sent somewhat of a warning to his former club regarding the Week 2 showdown.

Baker Mayfield "looking forward" to facing Browns

"I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that," Mayfield said about facing the Browns, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "It’s the next opponent. Cleveland happens to be the next opponent — our home opener. So, yeah. Have a bad taste in our mouth, looking forward to getting it out." 

Mayfield previously admitted that he felt "like a piece of dirty laundry" after the Browns acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in March 2022 and then signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230M contract. The Browns traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers later that summer, and he started for Carolina against Cleveland in Week 1 of the 2022 campaign. While the Browns earned a 26-24 win that Sunday, they have since emerged as the big losers of what's become a disastrous Watson-related trade for the organization.  

Pockets of Browns fans would now prefer for Watson to never again take an in-game snap for the club. Meanwhile, Mayfield has signed multiple contracts with the Buccaneers since March 2023. 

Baker Mayfield wants "to get some stuff fixed" before Browns game

Mayfield lost three fumbles in the loss to the Bengals on Sunday. He'll spend the midweek looking to correct such miscues before he attempts to get some revenge on Sept. 20. 

"It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one," Mayfield added about the Week 2 game against the Browns. "I’ve said that to you guys over the years — it doesn’t matter who it is, the most important one is the next one. And we’ve got — I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. And we’ve got to move forward."

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Buccaneers as 8.5-point home favorites over the Browns.