CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is a man of his word, one who pays off his bets, and he has the photo and accompanying tweet to prove it.
Mayfield was a finalist for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year Award, but lost out on the honor to New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. As such, Mayfield owed Barkley a new gold chain and studded medallion featuring the word “Quads.”
Barkley tweeted a “shout-out” to Mayfield for paying off the bet.
Barkley was named the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors ceremony in Atlanta on the eve of Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns, and turned 91 catches into 721 yards and four scores during his first year with the Giants. Barkley had 16 rushes and five receptions go for at least 20 yards and seven carries and two catches go for 40 or more yards.
Thirty of Barkley’s receptions went for first downs and he did not fumble once in 16 starts.
Barkley won the award despite the fact that without a full season under center, Mayfield threw for more touchdowns than any rookie in the NFL’s near 100-year history.
Mayfield broke the NFL record with his 27th touchdown throw of the season with 3:24 to play in regulation of a 26-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC North Division clash at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on December 30.
After taking over the first-team offense in the second quarter of a Week 3 win over the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium, Mayfield completed 310 of his 486 attempts (63.8 percent) for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
Although Mayfield does not get official credit for the victory over the Jets because he came on in relief of an injured Tyrod Taylor, the first-year quarterback guided the Browns to seven wins and the greatest single-year turnaround in franchise history.
Individually, Mayfield set franchise records for the most passing touchdowns and yards by a rookie, and his 3,725 yards rank as the sixth-best single-season in team history, regardless of years of service. Additionally, Mayfield had three of the top five passing yards games by a rookie, as well as the fourth-most accurate season of any Browns quarterback ever.
Under the direction of new Browns coach Freddie Kitchens, Mayfield completed 180 of his 263 attempts (68.4 percent) for 2,254 yards and 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions. Mayfield averaged 281.75 yards and 2.375 touchdowns per game with Kitchens calling the plays.
In addition to Mayfield, Barkley beat out Browns running back Nick Chubb for Rookie of the Year honors.
Of all rookie running backs who have played for the Browns since their founding in 1946, no one rushed for more yards than Chubb, as he set the franchise single-season record in a 26-18 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 23.
Chubb eclipsed the rookie rushing record set by Trent Richardson during the 2012 season and needed 84 less attempts to overtake first place in Browns history.
Chubb finished the 2018 season, one in which he was seldom used in the first seven games, with 996 yards and eight touchdowns on 192 carries. Chubb had 11 20-yard runs, four 40-yard bursts and 47 first-down conversions.
