Baker Mayfield reached out to former teammate Myles Garrett after the quarterback’s trade from Cleveland to Carolina this summer. According to Garrett, Mayfield texted that he “appreciated the time we got to spend together and getting to know each other and growing together.”
The Browns defensive end did not respond.
“I read (the text), but you know, there were some disagreements we had at a base level, and I’m not mad at the guy or feeling any way towards it, but I just didn’t know how to reply to that, so I didn’t,” Garrett told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “But I still think he’s a hell of a competitor, and he’s a great guy to have on your side and I’m rooting for him. I think he has a great family, but he’s the opposition now, and at the end of the day, I’ve got to take him out.”
The Browns made Garrett the No. 1 overall selection in 2017 and Mayfield the No. 1 overall pick a year later. Per Cabot, a rift between the two “seemed to be there from the start, in part because of their personalities and leadership styles,” and Mayfield was among those in the organization who perceived a lack of strong leadership from Garrett.
Mayfield ripped Garrett in a postgame interview on national television following Garrett’s helmet incident with Mason Rudolph in 2019 that led to a six-game suspension for Garrett. Mayfield upset Garrett again last season with the role he played in the departure of Garrett’s close friend, Odell Beckham Jr.
Cabot reports that the chasm between Mayfield and Garrett only widened to the point where Garrett wanted to see a change at quarterback for 2022. The Browns did just that, trading for Deshaun Watson before moving on from Mayfield.
“It never is (easy),” Garrett said of working alongside Mayfield over the years. “Winning takes a lot. It’s not going to be easy come, easy go, except for one of the Warriors teams, but I think it’s always tough. It’s always mentally straining.
“Guys are going to say and do things that they wouldn’t normally do and they’re going to listen and be receptive to things they haven’t normally done or have to do. So it was a slightly complicated relationship, but that’s how it is each year. There are new guys coming in, old guys coming in and same thing. Some guys who just came are going out, but you have to keep that same standard and you have to bring that same intensity year to year.”
It will not come as a surprise if Mayfield and Garrett don’t share a hug or a handshake on Sunday. One of them, though, will leave the field happier than the other.
