Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield says he will be taking a knee during the National Anthem this season. When a fan asked Mayfield if he would kneel, Mayfield responded with his stance.

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"Please tell Browns fans you’re not going to be kneeling this season," the fan commented on Instagram. 

"Pull your head out. I absolutely am," Mayfield responded. 

Later, Mayfield posted a lengthy statement regarding the situation on his IG Story.

"Everybody so upset about my comment doesn't understand the reasoning behind kneeling in the first place... Nate and Kap came to an agreement that kneeling was the most respectful way to support our military while also standing up for equality," Mayfield wrote. "I have the utmost respect for our military, cops, and people that serve OUR country. It's about equality and everybody being treated the same because we are all human. It's been ignored for too long and that is my fault as well for not becoming more educated and staying silent.

"If I lose fans, that's okay. I've always spoken my mind. And that's from the heart," he added.

Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien recently said that he will also kneel during the anthem with his players.

The Cleveland Browns have reportedly reached a deal with former Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper, giving quarterback Baker Mayfield yet another weapon on the offensive side of the ball.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Browns are prepared to make Hooper the highest paid tight end in the league as part of a four-year deal that includes $23M guaranteed over the first two seasons. All in, Hooper stands to make approximately $11M annually.

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Hooper, 25, had a breakout season last year as he racked 75 catches for 787 receiving yards and six touchdowns - all of which were career highs - in 13 games. The Pro Bowl tight end will now join a Cleveland Browns offense that already includes Pro Bowl wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, as well as star running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and fellow tight end David Njoku. 

Despite the wealth of talent on offense, Baker Mayfield and the Browns struggled mightily last season, finishing the year with a 6-10 record. As a result, Cleveland owns the 10th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and all signs point to them using that selection on one of the highly touted offensive linemen in this year's class. 

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is accused of cheating on his wife with a 20-year old Ohio woman, who claims she hooked up with the newly married man in the parking lot of a Cheesecake Factory. Kacie Dingess alleges that she first caught Mayfield’s attention when she sent him a Snapchat video from a preseason tailgate party back in August, a month after Baker and Emily Mayfield tied the knot.

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During an interview with Cleveland radio show “Rover’s Morning Glory” earlier this month, Dingess described in detail how she and Mayfield exchanged photos online before ultimately arranging a meet up. She also showed the radio hosts nude photos that Baker allegedly sent her.

“He kept texting me, saying like, ‘Send me pictures’ and blah, blah, blah,” she claimed (H/T US Magazine). “We were texting for a while, and then he was like, ‘OK, come see me.’ So I got in my car and I drove all the way to Westlake, and it was like behind Cheesecake Factory in some weird development parking lot. And so he texted me when I was on my way there and he was like, ‘You have to leave your phone in the car.’”

Once inside Mayfield’s SUV, Dingess claims that the two hopped in the backseat and she performed oral sex on him.

“[When] I left, I was like, ‘Good doing business with you’ — like, joking around,” she recounted (H/T US Magazine). “And he was like, ‘Don’t say that!’ And I was like, ‘I’m just kidding.’ And then I lost my Juul in his car and we had to look for that for a few minutes. He was like, ‘OK, well, drive safe,’ and I was like, ‘OK, see ya.’”

So if this incident did actually occur, why is she coming forward now? She explained to the radio hosts that Mayfield blocked her on twitter, which led her to out him as a cheater. 

ESPN Cleveland analyst Tony Grossi has been suspended indefinitely following comments he made about Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. During a discussion about the league's QBs, Grossi referred to Mayfield as a “fucking midget” when he thought he was off the air but a hot microphone picked up every word he said.

You can hear the slip up at the tail end of the video embedded below.

Baker Mayfield appeared on ESPN's Get Up on Friday morning with former NFL head coach Rex Ryan to discuss his handling of critics and squash his beef with Ryan.