CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As Baker Mayfield’s tenure with the Browns comes to a close, the quarterback is reflecting on the lessons he learned during the first four years of his career.

During his introductory press conference following his trade to the Carolina Panthers last week, Mayfield said one of the biggest lessons he will take forward is balancing his fiery and competitive personality with knowing when to keep certain thoughts close to the vest.

At times, Mayfield’s brashness was exactly what the Browns needed -- like in 2020, when the team went 11-5 and made their first playoff appearance in 18 years. Other times during his Cleveland tenure, and particularly in 2021 as the Browns missed the playoffs and Mayfield struggled on the field, that sort of cockiness was viewed in a different light.

“There’s definitely a lot of lessons and experiences I learned from when it comes to keeping some things in house, but also being myself,” he said. “That’s why I was drafted there, to help turn that place around and to be the best version of myself. I think it’s easy to get lost in stories and media at the same time. It’s tricky to balance, but that’s the multiple conversations that I’ve had with (Carolina GM) Scott (Fitterer) and coach (Matt) Rhule. They want me to be myself, be a good leader, be a great teammate.

For Mayfield, it’s all about finding balance.

He came to Cleveland as the “flag-planter,” known in college as the quarterback who took the Oklahoma flag and “planted” it square in the center of the Block O on the artificial turf in The Horseshoe after a win over Ohio State.

The quarterback was never afraid to show his personality in Cleveland, especially once he became the starter and opened the famous locked beer coolers across the city with that Jets win in Week 3 of 2018. Later that year, Mayfield went on to set the rookie record for touchdown passes with 27 and also coined his slogan, “I woke up feeling real dangerous” after a win over the Falcons.

After a rough 2019 under head coach Freddie Kitchens, in 2020 Mayfield was finding a groove between showing his personality and winning. The Browns went 11-5 and made the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. Off the field, perhaps the highlight came in their wild-card win over the Steelers. After the 48-37 victory, the quarterback trolled Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a quote he made in an interview earlier in the week, repeating it for a camera jogging back to the Browns’ locker room: “The Browns is the Browns.”

When the Browns were winning, these were highlight-worthy, quotable moments.

“I’ve always been vocal being able to bring guys and elevate them,” Mayfield said. “So there’s a balance, but that competitive nature, it will never go away. If I do that, I shouldn’t be playing anymore, so that’s what’s helped get me here and I’ll have to continue to do that.”

But when trouble became prevalent in 2021, Mayfield’s outspokenness wasn’t perceived in the same way as he fell to 27th in the NFL with an 83.1 rating and threw 13 interceptions and 17 touchdowns.

Last season, he was disillusioned with how he was being used in Kevin Stefanski’s offense, and criticized the playcalling multiple times. He said the Browns’ offense got too “conservative” after their 24-22 home win over the Ravens. After a Jan. 3 loss to the Steelers in which Mayfield was sacked nine times, he criticized the game plan and said the Browns didn’t give rookie tackle James Hudson III enough help against Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt.

Mayfield’s unhappiness was also on display when he stalked off the field after a victory over the Lions, skipping his required postgame press conference. The following day, Mayfield snapped at a reporter and called out fans for booing him and for being too loud when the Browns were on offense.

It didn’t help his frustrations that attention and questions surrounded him from the midway point of the season and onward after the Odell Beckham Jr. saga, when Beckham’s father shared a video of Mayfield consistently missing an open Beckham or misfiring.

While Mayfield went off social media and took a months-long hiatus, he ultimately came back after news broke that the Browns were meeting with Deshaun Watson in March, trying to convince the former Houston QB to waive his no-trade clause. Mayfield penned a letter to fans that read like a goodbye, and the following day he requested a trade -- all prior to Watson agreeing to come to Cleveland.

After all that, Mayfield is at least giving the outward appearance of someone who has matured when it comes to letting certain things roll off his back and determining where his focus should be.

“Control what I can,” Mayfield said. “This has been an offseason that’s taught me a lot of patience, a lot about focusing on the priorities, realizing who’s in your corner and just becoming the best version of yourself. So it’s been not anything how I drew it up, how I thought it was going to go, but I’m very thankful looking back on it and excited about the future.”

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