Can you even believe it? Eight years to the very day Baker Mayfield first stepped onto the field for the Browns, he is staring down his old team as the starting quarterback for the Buccaneers. And his former position coach, Ken Zampese, who’s now the Buccaneers’ senior offensive assistant/pass game specialist, just dropped a bombshell about how badly the Browns messed it up with Mayfield. Zampese was Mayfield’s coach back in 2018 when Baker came off the bench and led Cleveland to a win over the Jets on September 20. And this past Wednesday, he didn’t hold back, saying the Browns just totally “mucked it up.”
The “Franchise-Altering” Mistake Nobody Can Forget
Zampese didn’t mince words, telling Jenna Laine of ESPN exactly what he thinks: “They had the guy. They had the guy and they gave him up.” Think about that for a second. The Browns had found their quarterback, the one who finally brought some life back to that franchise, and they let him walk. Why? Because they made a “franchise-altering (in a bad way)” trade for Deshaun Watson, which ultimately led to Mayfield getting traded to the Panthers. It’s a move that still stings for anyone who saw the potential. Zampese, who’s now reunited with Mayfield this year, clearly still feels the sting of that decision, and honestly, who could blame him?
From 1-31 to Playoff Win: How Cleveland Came Alive
Zampese laid out just how good things were getting when he and Mayfield were working together. He pointed to their time in Cleveland, saying, “The year we were there, we were one of the best offenses in the NFL the second half of that season, 5-3, in a place that was, before that season started, 1-31.” Let that sink in: a team that was 1-31 suddenly became a winning squad. He saw the shift, saw the energy, stating, “The script got flipped and the city came alive because they finally drafted a quarterback that worked out for them and they mucked it up. They mucked it up.” Mayfield, in his third season, even led the Browns to a playoff appearance, capped off with a huge win over the Steelers in the wild-card round. That’s a legacy they just threw away!
Now, with Mayfield in his fourth year as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, facing the very team that “mucked it up,” the reunion with Zampese just adds another layer to this wild story. What’s at stake here isn’t just a game; it’s validation for Mayfield and a painful reminder for the Browns of what they let slip away. You know he’s going to be fired up to prove Zampese right.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
Leave a Reply