Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield said on Monday that there will be some extra juice in Week One because he is facing the Browns in his first game with his new team, but one of his former teammates said on Tuesday that the feeling isn’t mutual.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett went first overall the year before Cleveland took Mayfield in the same spot and the hope was that the two players would usher in a new era of success in Cleveland. They got to the playoffs once and won a game in four seasons, which wasn’t enough for the Browns to pull the plug on the partnership and replace Mayfield by trading for Deshaun Watson.
Garrett said that history doesn’t add anything to his motivation for Week 1, although he admitted he would like to reunite with Mayfield at the end of a couple of plays during the game.
“He’s my former teammate, but there’s no rivalry there between me and him and there’s no rivalry there between the Panthers and the Browns,” Garrett said, via Cleveland.com. “Yes, he was here but it doesn’t mean I have an added sense of urgency to get to him. I want to play my best and whatever’s in the cards that’s what’s in it for me. If I can help my team win, if I can put them in the best position to win, I’m gonna do that. If I can get a couple sacks along the way, I’d kind of enjoy that too.”
With the Browns missing Watson for 11 games, the Browns will take the kind of urgency that leads to multiple sacks from Garrett every week. If they should help ensure that Mayfield doesn’t get his first Panthers win against them, they’ll be even happier.