On Monday, Rex Ryan called Baker Mayfield ‘overrated as Hell’ among some other harsh words. This followed Mayfield’s lackluster performance against the Los Angeles Rams in a huge game on Sunday Night Football.
Now, Mayfield is shooting back at Ryan a little bit. Of course, that’s what Mayfield does. You didn’t expect him to go quietly into the next game did you?
Here it is – but to warn Mayfield – he has a worthy sparring partner in Ryan in terms of verbal jabs.
On Monday, Rex Ryan said Baker Mayfield is “overrated as hell.” Baker responded today: “In the wise words of Freddie Kitchens, ‘If you don’t wear Orange & Brown, you don’t matter’ and Rex doesn’t have any colors right now for a reason.” (via @MaryKayCabot) pic.twitter.com/LoLWJV0Lbx
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 25, 2019
The story is via ESPN, and Mayfield makes a semi-decent point in regards to the former NFL coach.
“It’s whatever,” the Cleveland Browns quarterback said. “In the wise words of [Cleveland coach] Freddie Kitchens, if you don’t wear orange and brown, you don’t matter, and Rex Ryan doesn’t have any colors right now for a reason. So, it’s OK.”
Certainly, Mayfield raises a fair point in that Rex Ryan is no longer an NFL head coach. However, this is not the first time he’s gotten involved in a verbal spat of some type. Whether it’s with pundit Colin Cowherd or in GQ Magazine talking about New York Giants’ rookie Daniel Jones, Mayfield has made no shortage of booming headlines in the past.
Furthermore, his head coach Freddie Kitchens has his quarterback’s back on this one.
Before Wednesday’s practice, Kitchens came to the defense of his quarterback, calling Ryan’s comments “asinine to even say.”
“I appreciate his opinion and all that, but he’s not in our building, he has no idea what we’re doing,” Kitchens said.
One must wonder if it’s better for Mayfield to respond to critics like Ryan with solid play or just ignore it entirely. For instance, if he comes out week four and lays another egg; his detractors will only get louder and multiply.
Mayfield is just 24-years old, and this is life in the NFL. You’re only as good as your last performance aside from a few players – and fortunes change fast. This won’t be the last time by far that someone takes Mayfield’s performance to task.
Finally, now we wait. Because of this, Rex Ryan is doing the same thing; and will probably have a prompt response Monday morning if Mayfield doesn’t go out and put up numbers on Sunday.
