'We're ready to move on': Baker Mayfield signals reconciliation with Cleveland Browns is unlikely

NORMAN — Baker Mayfield might have embellished.

On Tuesday morning, Mayfield — the former standout with Oklahoma and still-under-contract quarterback for the Cleveland Browns — helped host a youth football camp at the University of Oklahoma. During one of the drills, select kids attempted to juke Mayfield out, and each time Mayfield acting like he was deked.

Donning a red OU shirt and black hat, Mayfield helped coach dozens of children who attended the camp. They wore T-shirts with his name across the front and spent time catching passes from Mayfield and other coaches.

"I always looked forward to coming out to these summer camps," Mayfield said. "Relive my glory days."

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It was a lighthearted morning for Mayfield, whose future with Cleveland is murky after the Browns opted to trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson in March.

And, Mayfield addressed it during a brief press conference Tuesday.

"I think it's been pretty obvious the mutual decision on both sides is to move on," he said, via Sooner Scoop.

After being selected No. 1 overall by the Browns in 2018, Mayfield started 59 games, leading the team to its first playoff win since 1994 in the 2020 season. But after a torn labrum in his left shoulder resulted in a career-worst 17 touchdowns, the Browns shifted direction.

Cleveland shelled out six future draft picks, including three first-rounders, in exchange for Watson. The Browns quickly signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract, making Mayfield's future unclear, leading to him requesting a trade days later.

But, with Watson embroiled in sexual-assault cases, and his initial disciplinary hearing for a possible NFL suspension on Tuesday — where experts predicted Watson to be suspended at least a year — the Browns could look to Mayfield to fill in until the suspension ends.

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Mayfield, whose name has been tied to numerous other NFL teams over the past few months, doesn't see that as a possibility.

"No, I think for that to happen there would have to be some reaching out," said Mayfield, who is entering the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. "But we're ready to move on, I think, on both sides."

He held no resentment toward the city of Cleveland, saying he was thankful for the relationships he developed over the years, including former Browns quarterback Drew Stanton, who Mayfield visited in East Lansing, Michigan, Monday night.

"He was my mentor," Mayfield said. "Just relationships like that you're thankful for."

Mayfield said he was frustrated with a trade not happening before minicamps started, but said it was out of his control.

"For me, being off social media is pretty good," he said.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Baker Mayfield moves on from Browns, no matter Deshaun Watson's status