Rex Ryan wasn’t going to let Baker Mayfield get the last word.
The former Jets coach wore Cleveland Browns colors on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown,” donning a brown suit and orange tie after Mayfield responded Wednesday to Ryan calling the quarterback “overrated as hell.”
“Whatever. In the wise words of Freddie Kitchens, ‘If you don’t wear orange and brown, you don’t matter,’” Mayfield, quoting his coach, said Wednesday. “Rex Ryan doesn’t have any colors right now for a reason, so it’s OK.”
Ryan made his initial comments during Monday’s “First Take,” and he turned the feud up a notch on Sunday, telling the quarterback not to be “the weak link” on the Browns, who so far have failed to live up to the offseason hype.
“Baker Mayfield better be happy I’m not in the black and purple today on that sideline, ’cause he’d be in trouble,” Ryan said on Countdown before the Browns played the Ravens. “Here’s one thing I know about Baker Mayfield: Unlike any other quarterback in the National Football League, he’s got two Pro Bowl receivers (Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry) that he’s throwing to. No other team can say that. They’ve got two of them. By the way, this offensive line that’s been much-maligned, they’re ranked second in pass protection. So I don’t get it. Where’s the correlation? He’s been sacked the [fourth]-most times in the NFL, so something’s not jiving.
“Pat Mahomes is the favorite to win MVP. Baker Mayfield is second in our league. Why is he overrated? I never voted him second in the league to be MVP,” Ryan added. “Don’t be the weak link. You’re supposed to be Joe Superstar, go prove it.”
Ryan, 56, was fired by the Jets in 2014 after six seasons and was fired by the Bills in 2016.