Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam denied that former coach Hue Jackson received bonuses for losing.

"Unequivocally, Hue Jackson was never paid to lose games," Haslam told Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel. "That is an absolute falsehood. And it’s also an absolute falsehood that I laughed while we were losing. Most people who know me would say, ‘That’s not how Jimmy would react to losing.'"

The statement comes after Jackson said on ESPN's Keyshawn, JWill and Max and clarified on SportsCenter that he was paid $750,000 in bonuses for tanking games.

"Hue Jackson has never ever accepted any responsibility for our record during that time period," Haslam responded. "He's been masterful at pointing fingers but has never accepted any blame. I have accepted a ton of blame, and rightfully so."

Jackson was fired after producing a 3-36-1 record across three seasons.

The discussion began after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores alleged owner Stephen Ross offered a $100,000 bonus for each loss during the 2019 season in a lawsuit against the NFL and its teams. 

Jackson joined the discussion on Twitter noting a similar experience with the Browns:

Well Jimmy Haslam, was happy while we kept losing.

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

Trust me it was a good number!

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

The Browns went 1-15 during Jackson's first season before going 0-16 a year later.

Haslam argued that he supported Jackson during the struggles, but the coach was fired during the third season due to a lack of improvement. The Browns began 2018 with a 2-5-1 record under Jackson but finished 5-3 with interim coach Gregg Williams.

Jackson is currently the head coach at Grambling.  

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson said he was paid $750,000 in bonuses for tanking games during his tenure with the franchise.

Jackson made the statement Thursday during an appearance on ESPN's Keyshawn, JWill and Max. The dollar amount was new information amid the fallout from Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL.

Flores alleged that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss to tank for draft position during the 2019 season. According to the suit, Flores declined the offer, which led to tension between himself and management. 

Jackson, who went 3-36-1 during his tenure in Cleveland, said Wednesday on SportsCenter that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam presented him with a four-year plan for the franchise that did not include winning for at least the first two seasons (h/t WQKT): 

“Teams that win are just not the youngest team, not that the youngest teams can’t win, so I didn’t understand the process. I didn’t understand what the plan was, I asked for clarity because it did not talk about winning and losing until Year 3 and 4. So that told you right there that something wasn’t correct but I still couldn’t understand it until I had the team that I had.”

Jackson said he felt like he was being set up to fail because "no head coach is going to survive if you lose a lot of games.”

The Browns fired Jackson midway through his third season. He is now the head coach at Grambling State.

Grambling State University head football coach (and ex-NFL head coach) Hue Jackson spoke with ESPN's Elle Duncan on SportsCenter Wednesday to discuss his claims that he was incentivized to lose games when he oversaw the Cleveland Browns from 2016-2018.

Former Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson says he was given "no chance to win" with the Browns: pic.twitter.com/hT8UGcH6Ch

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 2, 2022

On Tuesday, Jackson replied to a tweet and seemed to imply that he was paid extra to lose football games in Cleveland, which has been owned by Jimmy Haslam since 2012.

Trust me it was a good number!

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

The Browns came out and flatly denied the allegations:

The #Browns have responded:

“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated. Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) February 2, 2022

Jackson then went on SportsCenter Wednesday to further clarify his comments, saying that he was put in a position to lose so the team could win later.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post relayed the remarks.

Hue Jackson says in ESPN interview: "What I was approached [about] was understanding what that four-year plan was.... I was put out as the face of this, and I ended up having to take this."

— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) February 2, 2022

Hue Jackson to ESPN: "I was put in a situation where I could not win."

— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) February 2, 2022

Jackson went on to say that he could prove his comments to be true, as noted by Baillie Burmaster of Cleveland 19 News.

Hue Jackson on his evidence he was incentivized by the #Browns to lose games: "I know for fact I can prove everything and anything I am saying and the league knows I can approve it."

— Baillie Burmaster (@baillie_burm) February 2, 2022

The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 and 0-16 in 2017 under Jackson, who said he got a contract extension after the latter year, as noted by Zac Jackson of The Athletic.

Hue: After 1-31, "before that third year I got a contract extension that nobody knew."

Also says Jimmy Haslam said "I feel bad for you. That's when I was given a contract extension. (Haslam) said hey, we're gonna get this right."

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) February 2, 2022

He then led Cleveland to a 2-5-1 start in 2018 before the team parted ways with him.

Jackson's interview came one day after ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class-action lawsuit, which alleges a preponderance of racist and discriminatory hiring practices within the NFL on the executive and coaching levels.

Flores' bombshell lawsuit includes a litany of allegations, including one that states Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019 so the team could get a better draft pick.

Flores was fired after three seasons despite posting winning records each of the last two years.

Jackson said he has not ruled out joining Flores' class-action lawsuit, 

Amid allegations from Brian Flores that he was offered financial incentives from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to lose games, former NFL head coach Hue Jackson has suggested he was paid extra money to lose games during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns. 

Jackson wrote on Twitter that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was "happy while we kept losing" and had this response to a fan comment about how much he may have been paid for each loss:

Trust me it was a good number!

— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022

After Jackson's comments, the Browns issues a statement in response, via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports:

The #Browns have responded:

“The recent comments by Hue Jackson and his representatives relating to his tenure as our head coach are completely fabricated. Any accusation that any member of our organization was incentivized to deliberately lose games is categorically false.”

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) February 2, 2022

Per a lawsuit filed against the NFL and all 32 teams on Tuesday, Flores alleged Ross offered to give him $100,000 for each loss during the 2019 season to improve Miami's draft position. 

Jackson spent three seasons as Browns head coach from 2016 to 2018. He went 3-36-1 overall before getting fired on Oct. 29, 2018. 

Across Jackson's first two seasons, Cleveland posted a 1-31 record. The Browns went 0-16 in 2017, making them the second team in NFL history to go winless in a 16-game season (2008 Detroit Lions).

Per Pro-Football-Reference.com, Jackson's .205 winning percentage as a head coach is the second-worst mark in NFL history (minimum: 50 games). His record also includes an 8-8 season with the Oakland Raiders in 2011. 

Appearing on ESPN 850 (h/t Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com) last May, Jackson said he "was lied to by ownership and leadership of the team" about the direction of their rebuild. 

"They were going to be football plus analytics, but it was football vs. analytics," Jackson explained. "I think I became the fall guy because that was the narrative...the truth needs to come out...for other minority coaches. They need to know the pitfalls out there. My story has affected some of their futures."

Jackson said in the same interview the Browns even gave him a contract extension midway through the 2017 season but didn't want to make it public. Cabot noted it was a one-year extension that ran through 2020. 

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams took over for Jackson on an interim basis midway through the 2018 season. Freddie Kitchens was named the full-time head coach in January 2019. 

After a 6-10 record in 2019, Kitchens was fired and replaced by Kevin Stefanski. 

Jackson spent the 2021 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee State. He was named head football coach at Grambling State on Dec. 10.     

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield announced Tuesday night that he will be abstaining from social media for the time being.

Per ESPN's Jake Trotter, Mayfield made the announcement via the following Instagram post:

Baker Mayfield says that he’s getting off social media “for the foreseeable future…” #Browns pic.twitter.com/5El2Tcbt2L

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) January 26, 2022

Mayfield underwent surgery last week after dealing with a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder for much of the 2021 season.

After undergoing surgery, Mayfield released the following video to provide an update on his status:

Thanks to Dr. Limpisvasti and his team for performing a successful surgery. This is only going to be a minor bump in the road.. excited to get healthy and back to my normal self. Thank y’all and God Bless. pic.twitter.com/cRVdkB6t9d

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) January 19, 2022

The 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick said he plans to "get back to my true self" once he is fully recovered in four to six months.

Mayfield suffered the shoulder injury in Week 2 and then proceeded to struggle through an up-and-down season the rest of the way for a Browns team that went 8-9 and missed the playoffs.

In the 14 games he started, Mayfield went 6-8 and completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

It represented a pretty obvious drop-off from 2020 when Mayfield completed 62.8 percent of his attempts for 3,563 yards, 26 touchdowns and a career-low eight picks.

He also led the Browns to an 11-5 record, their first playoff berth since 2002 and their first playoff win since 1994.

Mayfield is shutting out the noise from social media as he gets set to rehab and prepare for perhaps the most important season of his career thus far.

In 2022, Mayfield will play out the final season of his rookie contract, and he will make $18.8 million after the Browns exercised the fifth-year option in his deal.

The Browns have yet to sign Mayfield to an extension, however, and the organization may be waiting to see how he bounces back in 2022 before doing so.

With that in mind, 2022 is a do-or-die season for Mayfield in terms of whether he is Cleveland's long-term answer at quarterback or he has to look for opportunities elsewhere.

The Minnesota Vikings appear to have landed on a favorite for their vacant general manager position.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Vikings are "expected to work to hire" Cleveland Browns vice president of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

According to Rapoport, Adofo-Mensah is "the final finalist" for the Vikings, and the team is interviewing him for a second time.

ESPN's Courtney Cronin reported Adofo-Mensah is "meeting with various departments" in Minnesota and his interview could wrap up around 5 p.m. local time. 

After back-to-back losing seasons, including an 8-9 mark in 2021, the Vikings cleaned house by firing head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman. 

Spielman had been in the position since 2012. He was in his 16th season with the Vikings after being hired as vice president of player personnel in 2006. 

When Minnesota promoted Spielman to general manager, he became the first person in the organization with that official title since Mike Lynn in the 1980s. 

Ownership had given final authority on roster decisions to the head coach before Spielman took over as GM. The 59-year-old helped guide the Vikings to four playoff appearances in that role, including an appearance in the 2017 NFC Championship Game. 

Adofo-Mensah had his first interview with the Vikings last week. The 40-year-old has spent the past two seasons as the Browns vice president of football operations. 

Prior to joining the Browns, Adofo-Mensah spent seven seasons working in the San Francisco 49ers front office. He was their manager of football research and development from 2013 to 2017 and director of football research and development in 2018 and 2019.    

Reggie Wynns, Malik McDowell's former coach at Southfield High School, said the Cleveland Browns defensive tackle has no memory of his altercation with police from earlier this week.  

Speaking to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Wynns said McDowell told him he "doesn't remember anything."

"He was so emotional," Wynns added. "It had me in tears, because he was trying, trying, trying so hard."

Per Lisa J. Huriash and Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel, McDowell was arrested on Monday in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on charges of public exposure, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. 

The arrest came after the Broward County Sheriff's Office received a report of a naked man walking near a learning center. Surveillance footage showed McDowell walking onto the property without any clothes on. 

In the audio from the 911 call obtained by TMZ Sports, a woman told dispatch a man was "just walking up and down in front of the building." 

An attorney for McDowell told Huriash and Perkins that someone "may have slipped him something or given him something he was unaware of, which explains some of his bizarre behavior."

A Browns spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of the team:

We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information. We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time.

McDowell was a second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall) by the Seattle Seahawks in 2017. He never appeared in a game for the team due to injuries suffered in an ATV accident. 

The Seahawks released McDowell in March 2019. He was sentenced to 11 months in prison in November 2019 after pleading guilty to assault, resisting arrest and operating a vehicle while intoxicated and receiving and concealing stolen property from two separate arrests earlier in the year. 

McDowell signed with the Browns in May and made the final 53-man roster. The 25-year-old finished with 33 combined tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks in 15 games this season.    

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield will be sidelined for four to six months after undergoing surgery on the shoulder injury that bothered him throughout the 2021 season, the team announced Wednesday. 

pic.twitter.com/eABtoOSygV

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 19, 2022

Jake Trotter of ESPN reported it's possible Mayfield winds up back on the field "much sooner" than training camp. The signal-caller posted a video on Twitter updating his status earlier Wednesday, saying his surgery "went great" and was a "complete success."

“Now it’s on the way to the road to recovery," Mayfield said. "This is one of those steps to get back to my true self. ... It’s not going to be an easy one, but it’s going to be one that I’m going to remember and it’s going to be a special one."

Thanks to Dr. Limpisvasti and his team for performing a successful surgery. This is only going to be a minor bump in the road.. excited to get healthy and back to my normal self. Thank y’all and God Bless. pic.twitter.com/cRVdkB6t9d

— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) January 19, 2022

Mayfield played wearing a harness for much of the season to protect his shoulder, clearly impacting his performance. He finished with 3,010 yards and 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, ranking as one of the worst qualifying starting quarterbacks in nearly every metric.

The Browns, arguably equipped with a Super Bowl-caliber roster everywhere except quarterback and wide receiver, finished a disappointing 8-9. They also watched top wideout Odell Beckham Jr. force his way out of Cleveland—thanks in large part to his father disparaging Mayfield—only to thrive after signing with the Los Angeles Rams.

Mayfield, who seemed destined for a contract extension paying him upwards of $35 million per season a year ago, will now likely play 2022 on his fifth-year option in a make-it-or-break-it year for his tenure in Cleveland. An NFL executive told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler to expect the Browns to explore trading Mayfield this offseason, though the team's public comments suggest otherwise.

“We have been with Baker for a long period of time at this point. We know his work ethic, we know his drive and we have seen him as a talented passer in this league. We are looking forward to him getting healthy and continuing to make improvements. We expect him to bounce back next year," general manager Andrew Berry told reporters last week.

Mayfield's injury complicates any potential trade, as it's unlikely he'd be ready to pass a physical by March or April, when most teams are settling their quarterback spot. The overwhelming likelihood is we'll see Mayfield back in a Browns uniform in 2022, but he'll be playing for his job. 

Three people called police Monday asking for an urgent police response because a naked man, later identified as Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell, was walking outside a children's learning center in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

TMZ Sports obtained audio from the 911 calls on Wednesday, which included one woman who described the situation to a dispatcher while trying to organize a lockdown in the learning facility with McDowell "out front" of the building.

"You're going to go into lockdown," the woman said. "You're going to have to take these kids into the bathroom, OK? Yes. One-by-one."

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said in its arrest report it required six officers to subdue the 6'6'', 295-pound NFL player, who allegedly "punched the deputy several times in the head" and then ran across a roadway before officers used a stun gun on McDowell and he was placed in handcuffs, per Lisa J. Huriash and Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

McDowell was arrested and charged with public exposure, aggravated battery of an officer and resisting arrest. His attorney, Adam Swickle, told the Sun Sentinel he believes "throughout the investigation there will be things that will come to light, which will explain what took place."

"Apparently, somebody may have slipped him something or given him something he was unaware of—which explains some of his bizarre behavior," Swickle said.

The Browns released a statement after McDowell's arrest.

"We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information," a spokesperson said. "We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time."

McDowell signed with Cleveland in May after two years out of the NFL following multiple off-field incidents, including a prior altercation with police that led to an 11-month jail sentence.

The 25-year-old Michigan State product was a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in the 2017 draft. He never played a game for the Hawks because of injuries suffered in a July 2017 ATV accident and subsequent arrests prior to his March 2019 release by Seattle.

McDowell appeared in 15 games for the Browns during the 2021 season.

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell was arrested in Deerfield Beach, Florida, Monday on charges of public exposure, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, according to Lisa J. Huriash and Chris Perkins of the Sun Sentinel.

The Browns issued a statement on the matter.

"We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information," the team said. "We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time."

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said it received a report of a naked man walking near a school, which was later confirmed to be a learning center. Authorities said surveillance footage shows McDowell walking onto the property while naked.

A deputy who reported to the scene said McDowell "charged at me ... at full speed with closed fist." The officer described the physical altercation as a "violent attack."

McDowell briefly fled but was taken into custody after an officer used a Taser to subdue him and place him into handcuffs.

TMZ later posted video of McDowell's arrest:

An attorney for the 25-year-old addressed the allegations and said another person "may have slipped him something or given him something he was unaware of, which explains some of his bizarre behavior."

In November 2019, McDowell received an 11-month jail sentence following multiple legal infractions in Michigan. He was also placed on probation for three years, which overlaps with his arrest Monday.

A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, the Michigan native didn't make his regular-season debut until this season. He appeared in 15 games for the Browns, finishing with 33 tackles and three sacks.

Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal later reported McDowell is "highly unlikely" to be retained as an exclusive-rights free agent following his latest arrest.