Browns' Garrett trolls Mayfield over 'off the leash' T-shirts
Myles Garrett got the last laugh over Baker Mayfield - on and off the field.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback recently promoted a T-shirt with "off the leash" emblazoned under his name, seemingly taking a shot at his former team, the Cleveland Browns, before their Week 1 meeting.
After the Browns defeated the Panthers 26-24 on Sunday, Garrett said the T-shirts motivated his team to be "a bit off the leash" in the game, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
They’re here. The ONLY officially licensed shirts out there https://t.co/hrjzFNPhxc
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) September 2, 2022
Browns vice president JW Johnson also took a shot at Mayfield postgame:
YES! HUGE TEAM WIN!! 1-0 #Browns. The locker was Off The Leash. 😉#CFB
— JW Johnson (@JDubsIII) September 11, 2022
Mayfield, who made his official debut with the Panthers on Sunday after arriving in a trade with the Browns in July, previously said the T-shirt design wasn't his idea.
"I wish I could say I came up with the T-shirts," Mayfield said Wednesday, according to Ben Axelrod of WKYC 3News. "I got a good (marketing) team behind me, and they put a few little hidden messages and just my history and subliminal stuff in there."
Mayfield orchestrated what would've been the game-winning drive for the Panthers after Eddy Pineiro drilled the go-ahead field goal with only 1:13 left in the fourth quarter to take a 24-23 lead. However, Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett and Co. managed to put rookie kicker Cade York in a position to nail the 58-yard game-winner in the dying seconds.
"Despite people making this out to be the Super Bowl, we have 16 more games," Mayfield said postgame, according to The Athletic's Joe Person.
The quarterback finished the day with 235 yards and one touchdown against one interception on 16-for-27 passing. He also added a score on the ground.
Garrett racked up two sacks and three tackles for loss.