Baker Mayfield is clearing the air on allegedly saying he'd "f*** up" the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 ... claiming he didn't even come close to hurling the bulletin board material.
Earlier this week, NFL Media's Cynthia Frelund stated she spoke with the new Carolina Panthers QB after their preseason game against the Buffalo Bills ... and claimed he told her he was going to get revenge on his former team with an NSFW statement.
It’s real pic.twitter.com/s2L1xyJNLD
— Johnny Stanton Stan (@BrownsAlchemy) August 30, 2022
It's a comment that almost certainly lit a fire under his old teammates' asses ... with Myles Garrett saying the Browns were going to "take it and use it."
But Baker spoke with the media at practice on Wednesday ... and he says the conversation didn't go as Frelund claimed.
"Well, first, I didn't say it," Baker told reporters.
Baker Mayfield: “Well first, I didn’t say it.” pic.twitter.com/fjjiTNiGC1
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) August 31, 2022
"That is not how I phrased it. That's not even what I said."
Bake claims he "didn't even say anything" other than wanting to get a win in Week 1 ... which isn't nearly as eye-opening as the initial statement.
If Mayfield is telling the truth, it was a pretty believable quote nonetheless -- after all, this is the guy who went #1 overall in the 2018 draft but still played with a chip on his shoulder.
As for Frelund, she later admitted she should have kept the conversation private ... but stood by her intent -- which was to show support for the QB.
Something tells us the Browns are still gonna have that motivation come September 11.