Baker Mayfield is currently on the offensive trying to convince teams that he’s not Johnny Manziel 2.0. Yesterday, the Heisman winning QB took to Twitter to blast a Cleveland Browns writer who questioned why Mayfield was late to the Senior Bowl.
Mayfield went on to explain that he didn’t being late to Senior Bowl weigh-ins and talked about how he hates the Manziel “bad boy” comparisons.
Via NFL.COM
“I want to show the type of guy I am. Everyone wants to portray (me) as a bad boy, the Johnny Manziel stuff,” Mayfield said. “I love the game of football, there’s no doubt about that. I’m an emotional player. I’ll do anything it takes to win. I love being around my teammates, leading and having responsibilities. It is what it is. If I paid too much attention to it, I’d be focusing on the wrong things.”
There is no question, however, that the circus-like atmosphere that surrounded Manziel throughout his college years tends to follow Mayfield, as well. A throng of media swarmed him following practice, and he was all the more anticipated after a family matter caused a delay in his arrival. Rumors spread that he was trying to avoid his weigh-in — his Oklahoma-listed height of 6-1 is on the short side for scouts — but Mayfield said his mother’s illness was the reason, and he plans to weigh-in like every other player.
“Family first, always, no matter what the situation. I would never put myself above my mom. She’s getting better. She’s got a special appointment Thursday,” he said. “As soon as I found out I booked my flight home. It wasn’t about delaying my measurement. I’ll weigh-in tomorrow if it’s that big of a deal, I don’t care. Family first.”
In the past year Mayfield has done little to squash all the talk about him being a “bad boy” with his antics on and off the field.