Browns QB Baker Mayfield Says He Won't Be a 'Jackass' Communicating with WRs

Baker Mayfield isn't going to be shy about criticizing his teammates. He also knows there's a line he won't cross that could alienate him from the locker room.

"I'm not going to be a jackass. I'm gonna talk through it," Mayfield told reporters Wednesday. "I'm gonna harp on it, then I'm going to talk to them. And like I said, we need to be on the same page."

The Cleveland Browns' second-year quarterback made headlines when he was overheard yelling at his receivers for not adjusting their routes when he was scrambling out of the pocket.

"Those guys know that's a big part of our offense. And they know that," Mayfield said. "It's just the fact that if we get lazy and let things slide—we need to be open to communicating right now. That's what the good teams do."

The Browns come into 2019 with arguably their highest expectations since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999. Mayfield looks like the franchise quarterback Cleveland has desperately craved since it took Tim Couch with the first overall selection as an expansion team.

The Browns added Odell Beckham Jr. via trade and Kareem Hunt in free agency, adding to a skill-possession core that already includes Jarvis Landry, David Njoku, Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson. Every player on this offense is in or ascending toward his prime, and the Browns are favorites to win the AFC North.

With such high expectations, tempers are going to run over—especially for a notoriously competitive Mayfield. Those locker room blowups will be seen as the sign of a leader so long as the Browns are winning and he's performing well.

Mayfield will have to police himself better if he and/or the Browns fail to live up to expectations. Getting yelled at is a lot easier to take when you're expecting to go 11-5 rather than when you're sitting at 2-4.

Reaching that balance will help Mayfield find his voice while not losing the locker room.