FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, September 22nd, 2019
BAKER MAYFIELD SPEAKS WITH MIKE TIRICO ON “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA”
“I’m not going to apologize for being me. I don’t fit in the guidelines.” – Mayfield
“If nobody else believes in me, I’m just going to work for it and in the end be able to say, ‘I told you so.’” – Mayfield
Interview to Air on Football Night in America Beginning Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC
WATCH: Full 20-Plus Minute Mayfield-Tirico Conversation on NBCSports.com
Cleveland Browns Host Los Angeles Rams Tonight in Cleveland’s First NBC Sunday Night Football Game in 11 Years
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 22, 2019 – Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield speaks with host Mike Tirico on tonight’s edition of Football Night in America, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. FNIA leads into Rams-Browns on Sunday Night Football on NBC at 8:20 p.m. ET, which marks the first SNF game in Cleveland in 11 years.
In the interview, Mayfield discusses the hype surrounding his arrival in Cleveland and how he transformed from a “shy guy” to one of the more honest, outspoken quarterbacks that doesn’t subscribe to the “quarterback handbook.”
Mike Tirico will host Football Night in America from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., alongside analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Chris Simms, as well as NFL insider Mike Florio. Liam McHugh will co-host Football Night in America on-site from a new outdoor set outside of FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Below are excerpts from Tirico’s interview with Mayfield. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing on Football Night in America.”
WATCH: Full 20-plus minute Mayfield-Tirico conversation on NBCSports.com.
TIRICO’S INTERVIEW WITH MAYFIELD
Click here to watch a preview of Tirico’s interview with Mayfield.
Tirico: “You’re honest, sometimes, to a fault. Have you at any point during the NFL experience said, ‘Maybe I can’t be as honest as I was at Oklahoma?’”
Mayfield: “No. I think that’s what catches people off guard. I’m not going to apologize for being me. I truly do pride myself on being completely transparent and honest about how I feel.”
Tirico: “There’s almost a quarterback handbook. ‘Don’t give anybody anything bad to put up on their bulletin board.’ You don’t subscribe to that handbook.”
Mayfield: “I definitely don’t. I don’t fit in the guidelines and not a lot of people like that. I think that’s where the reaction comes from on the outside, but that’s okay – I’m not really worried about it.”
Tirico: “Is it true that as a kid you actually didn’t like getting up and speaking in front of groups?
Mayfield: “I hated it, actually. I was a shy guy.”
Tirico: “Rule-follower?”
Mayfield: “Big rule-follower.”
Tirico: “What happened? (laughs)”
Mayfield: “Not being the biggest guy, not being the strongest, I just said, you know what? If nobody else believes in me, I’m just going to work for it and in the end be able to say, ‘I told you so.’”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
