Baker Mayfield wanted to set the record straight Wednesday.
A day after GQ published an interview with Mayfield in which he said it "blew his mind" that the Giants drafted quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth pick in the NFL Draft, Mayfield walked back his comments. He had already reached out to Jones Tuesday.
“It had nothing to do specifically about Daniel,” Mayfield told reporters, via ProFootballTalk. “I reached out to Daniel because all of that blew way out of hand and I wanted him to know how I felt. I’ve heard nothing but great things from Saquon (Barkley) and Sterling Shepard, guys who have nothing but respect for him, and I respect their opinions.
"I just wanted to clear the air with him.”
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Mayfield seemed to take issue with how his original comments were framed when the GQ story broke Tuesday.
He commented on an Instagram post that applied his GQ comments to a photo of him and Jones:
“This is not what I said . . . just so we’re clear. I also said I was surprised I got drafted number one. Then was talking about the flaws in evaluating QBs. Where I brought up winning being important. Reporters and media will do anything to come up with a click bait story. Heard nothing but good things and wish nothing but the best for Daniel.”
Mayfield said he sent text messages to Jones later Tuesday to "clear the air with him."
He said Jones appreciated the gesture and told him "no worries, man," per the Associated Press.
Mayfield also noted Wednesday he didn’t feel blindsided by the GQ story but was “pretty confused about it."
“To me, that came back on my character," he said. "That’s one thing that, I don’t care about a lot of opinions if you like me or not, but that looked like my character was way out of line, so that’s the only reason I addressed it."