Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield has denied saying he wants to "f*** them up" about his former side the Cleveland Browns who they will face in their September 11 season opener.
Mayfield has been given the nod as the Panthers' starting QB after a prolonged battle with Sam Darnold to start the 2022 NFL season.
Mayfield's exit from the Browns, who took him with the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, occurred after they traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
As a result, Mayfield requested that the Browns trade him, joining the Panthers in July, although he has been reluctant to criticise his former franchise publicly.
NFL Network analyst Cynthia Frelund claimed on Monday night's Around The NFL podcast that Mayfield echoed the remark to her, albeit innocuously, after last week's preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills.
"First, I didn't say it," Mayfield told reporters. "Everybody is going to write whatever story they want.
"There's history because I played there the last four years. I'm an extremely competitive person. Everybody knows that. If I wasn't wanting to win, then there would be a really big issue of me being the quarterback here.
"I want to win in everything I do. That'll never change. But it's not how I phrased it. It's not even what I said, so let's leave it at that."
He added: "I didn't even say anything. All I did was, 'Great, hope we win.' Pretty plain and simple. I'm competitive. I want to win. I don't think that should be harped on.
"That's the extent of it. It's obviously a bigger story because I haven't given the media what they've wanted me to give them this year in this offseason."
Mayfield conceded that the season opener against his former side meant something to him although he did try to downplay the narrative.
"Obviously, there's a lot of attachment there," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and be a robot and say it doesn't mean anything. It will.
"It's a great storyline. It really is because I wasn't expected to be out of Cleveland. But after Week 1, there's 16 more that really, really matter. That's how I'm approaching it."
Mayfield started 59 games in his four seasons in Cleveland and helped lead the Browns to their first playoff victory since the 1994 season in 2020. The QB went 29-30 in 59 regular-season starts with the Browns.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined Monday following an MRI.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
Stumbling Saints fire head coach Allen
The New Orleans Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday, one day after the team’s losing streak reached seven games with a 23-22 defeat to the lowly Carolina Panthers.
New Orleans got off to an unexpected strong start to the 2024 season by outscoring its first two opponents 91-29 in a pair of victories.
The Saints lost their next two games by just a combined five points, but then it really started to unravel for the team.
New Orleans’ next four defeats all came by 13 points or more, and on Sunday, the Panthers pulled out a 23-22 win over the Saints after Carolina entered the meeting with a 1-7 record.
Allen was promoted from New Orleans' defensive coordinator to head coach after the 2021 season, and the Saints posted an 18-25 record under him with no play-off appearances.
The Saints (2-7) are expected to name special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as interim head coach ahead of their Week 10 visit from the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-3).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
