Todd Monken claimed that very few people love football more than Baker Mayfield, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are eager to get one over his former franchise in Week 2
Baker Mayfield will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 and still has a bad taste in his mouth
Baker Mayfield will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 and still has a bad taste in his mouth(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 of the new NFL season, and Todd Monken has made his feelings clear on the former first-overall pick following an ugly exit.
Mayfield was drafted first overall by the Browns in 2018, but was traded to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional fifth-round draft pick in 2022. The move almost derailed his career, but he has since signed two extensions with the Buccaneers, the latest being a three-year, $165 million extension.
The quarterback has been desperate for stability throughout his NFL career and is already playing under his ninth different offensive coordinator. One of Mayfield's former coordinators was Browns head coach Monken, who spoke highly of him before the Week 2 matchup.
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Monken was Mayfield's coordinator in 2019, one year before the quarterback led Cleveland to an 11-5 season and helped win its first postseason game since 1994. While there is still bad blood between Mayfield and the Browns, Monken remains a huge fan.
"He’s a great football player and highly competitive," Monken said of Mayfield. "It’s irrespective of playing the Browns, he’s very prideful, he wants to play good football, and he’s a great football player.
"He can only speak to having it circled, I can only speak to what I think of him as a player and how competitive he is. There’s very few people that I’ve been around that like football more than Baker Mayfield."
Todd Monken was Mayfield's OC at the Cleveland Browns in 2019
Todd Monken was Mayfield's OC at the Cleveland Browns in 2019(Image: 2019 Diamond Images)
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Mayfield has since looked like the quarterback everyone expected upon arriving in Tampa Bay, but his career hasn't been a smooth ride. Mayfield was pushed aside by the Browns in favor of Deshaun Watson in 2022, who signed a fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
The decision has since proven to be one of the worst in NFL history, but Mayfield had to request his release from the Panthers after being traded to Carolina. He then joined the Los Angeles Rams mid-season, which he credits for sparking an essential comeback.
In 2023, Mayfield signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Buccaneers, and his value has since been rewarded with two extensions worth upwards of $100 million. Still, that doesn't mean Mayfield has forgiven the Browns.
Mayfield spent four seasons with the Browns before being pushed aside for Deshaun Watson
Mayfield spent four seasons with the Browns before being pushed aside for Deshaun Watson(Image: 2022 Getty Images)
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"I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that," Mayfield said of the Week 2 clash.
"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.
"It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one. 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."
While Mayfield's primary beef is with the Browns, he also took a shot at former head coach Kevin Stefanski after he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons. "Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage," Mayfield wrote on X earlier this year.