A Richard Sherman-Baker Mayfield Budding Feud Has Blockbuster Potential
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- You know, when it comes to a soap opera-level of drama, no other sports league can touch the National Basketball Association. That league is in its own universe.
Still, the NFL this week has offered up a couple of instances that show that football players have feelings, too.
You might have missed the first, as it involved a war of words between Bills D-lineman Shaq Lawson and Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan. Lawson said the Bills knew all of the weaknesses of Lewan -- who was playing in his first game after serving a PED suspension -- and he also said that Lewan was a "fake tough guy."
Lewan responded in a way that may have lent some credence to that assessment.
He responded by tweeting.
Those two adults had a little slap fight online, and the internet watched, and another Bills player jumped in as the third man, and it was moderately entertaining.
Turns out, that was just the warmup act for the main event of the week in terms of NFL drama.
And, really, we should have seen this one coming. This time, it involved Baker Mayfield and Richard Sherman, two professional football players who are not exactly known for keeping their opinions to themselves. They're confident, to say the least.
So, when the captains took the field at midgame for the pregame coin toss and Mayfield refused to shake hands with the 49ers' captians? Whoa boy, was Richard Sherman ever miffed.
The fella was steaming.
Nobody knew about the handshake snub, though, until after the game, when the victorious Sherman let it rip when talking with NFL.com's Mike Silver.
Here's what Sherman told Silver:
"What's amazing, and annoying, was him not shaking hands at the beginning. That's some college s---. It's ridiculous. We're all trying to get psyched up, but shaking hands with your opponent -- that's NFL etiquette. And when you pull bush league stuff, that's disrespectful to the game. And believe me, that's gonna get us fired up."
"Respect the game. You can have rivals, but pay your respect in that moment -- especially when you're young. He hasn't earned anything in this league. How many games has he won? He's acting like he was the MVP last year. If [Patrick] Mahomes did that, it would be one thing. But [Mahomes] would never do that, because he has too much respect for the game.
"And when you see a guy who doesn't? You humble him every chance you get. Because eventually, he will have respect for the league -- or he'll be out of it."
Those words are strong. Strong to quite strong, in fact.
While Sherman's assessment that Mayfield may end up "out of the league" may be a slight exaggeration, the reality for Mayfield is that despite all of that braggadocio, he's now 8-10 as a starting quarterback in the NFL. This year, he's led the Super Bowl-hopeful Browns to a disappointing 2-3 record, while throwing just four touchdowns and a league-leading eight interceptions.
Because sports are sometimes awesome, Sherman was the recipient of one of those interceptions on Monday night.
Sherman was not the only 49er who was furious with Mayfield during this game, as Nick Bosa released some pent-up rage that he's been harboring toward Mayfield ever since the then-Oklahoma QB tried to plant an OU flag in the turf at Ohio State.
You don't often hear a rookie go off in a postgame interview, but Bosa likewise held nothing back when talking about Mayfield.
"He was panicking. He was double-clutching. Rolling back and forth. We had him rattled all game," Bosa said, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. "I just wanted to get payback. [Mayfield] had it coming. ... I don't usually talk, but this game he had it coming. He didn't say one word back. … I was just screaming his name: 'Baaaaker. Baaaaker. You good? C'mon, we want a challenge.'"
The normally outspoken Mayfield didn't offer much when asked about Bosa's imaginary flag planting.
"No, I didn't know that until I was informed before I got up here," Mayfield said at the podium. "Good for him. Good play."
Mayfield finished the game with an absolutely brutal stat line. He completed just eight of his 22 passes (36.4 percent) for 100 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions (though the second interception came after a receiver drop). Mayfield also took four sacks, fumbling twice and losing one. He had a passer rating of 13.4.
Bosa, meanwhile, recorded four solo tackles, including two sacks and another tackle for a loss. He was credited with five quarterback hits.
Sherman also had four solo tackles, with the first-quarter interception that helped prevent the Browns from ever establishing any sort of offensive rhythm. The Niners won 31-3 in a game that was over at halftime.
If we had known at the time that Sherman was miffed about the pregame snub, the moment of the interception would have been all the more exciting. And frankly, it's a disappointment that the older, wiser Richard Sherman did not scream into a microphone and TV camera immediately after the game, as he once famously did while feeling some rage toward Michael Crabtree.
Nevertheless, though we may not see another Sherman-Mayfield matchup for a few more years (and possibly not ever again), this offering on an otherwise boring Monday night was a welcome chapter to the on/off-field drama that always adds a little bit more intrigue once the ball is snapped.
They play in different conferences, and Sherman is 31 years old, so it's possible that the feud ends here. BUT! If these two ever do meet again ... you're going to need to clean out your local cinema's entire supply of popcorn before kickoff. Things could get ugly.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
UPDATE! UPDATE! IMPORTANT UPDATE!
So, all of that previous message still holds true, but I do believe this feud has gained a new wrinkle, now that video of the alleged handshake snug has surfaced. Look for yourself:
Did that look like Mayfield big-timing Sherman? Our view is obviously obscured, but Mayfield didn't seem too standoffish for that midfield meeting.
Did Sherman make it all up just to make a big postgame speech? Or did the large frame of George Kittle block out what was an egregious showing of disrespect by the QB? We may never get a straight answer. Hopefully we get some more commentary from the involved parties, though.
ANOTHER UPDATE!!!
That didn't take long. Sherman has doubled down on his insistence, despite the questionable video footage.
How long will Baker be able to stay quiet about it?
WE'VE GOT A THIRD UPDATE
OK, sorry, Richard, but this is a handshake.
That is a handshake. That Mayfield popped out after the toss is no big deal, as the Browns were set to receive the football, thus springing the QB into action.
That's a handshake, Richard.
UPDATE NO. 4!!
OK, here's the deal. They shook hands. But Baker kind of started off into the distance.
Meanwhile Sherman has sent off MANY tweets, arguing with fans about this, that, and the other thing.
It's not great.
While it looked like a captivating story for a while, methinks we're going to have to score this one in favor of Baker. The tape does not lie.
Goodness Gracious. A Fifth Update.
So, amidst the deletion of many ill-conceived tweets, Sherman's story has changed. Now the story isn't that Mayfield didn't shake his hand. Now, the story is that Mayfield didn't shake his hand a second time, AFTER the coin flip.
The story had to change after videos like that began to surface.
"So you don't see any difference in the way I shake everyone else's hand and the guy who stands back with the petty shake," Sherman tweeted in response to Pat McAfee. "Was [B.S.] and I took offense to it then turns and runs off. It's not that big of a deal."
Au contraire, Mr. Sherman. It is the biggest deal.
