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All his life, Baker Mayfield has been a success story. Even when he’s faced adversity in the past, like losing his starting job at Texas Tech before transferring to Oklahoma in college, he’s wound up on the winning end.
That changed in 2019 in Cleveland. After a record-setting rookie campaign as the Browns quarterback, Mayfield’s play declined in his second year. He talked about the difficult season he had, both physically and mentally, following Friday’s first practice of the 2020 Browns training camp.
“Having success all through high school and college and having that standard so high, and the past couple of years have just been a roller coaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I’m used to,” Mayfield said via Zoom. “So I would say I lost myself, not having that success, not finding out what was working. I think I tried different ways of trying to have that success, and I didn’t find it.”
He summed it up succinctly,
“So I lost myself in that, and I wasn’t able to be who I [should be] for these guys on the team.”
Mayfield believes he’s found himself through a new diet and better mental resiliency. He’s reported to camp this year lighter. He’s also recovered from a wrist injury that plagued him throughout most of last season.
He’s ready to prove it to his coaches, teammates and the world watching and waiting to see what’s next with the divisive QB.
“I’m in a much better state,” Mayfield said. “I put in the work. … I’m just ready to roll, attack, get back to where I need to be the leader for this team, for this franchise. The reason I’ve gotten here is because I’ve been myself, [I’ve] been able to attack each and every day with 100 percent effort.”