Baker Mayfield on Duke Johnson: Join us or get out of the way

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Browns running back Duke Johnson said Tuesday that he remains in favor of a trade that would send him away from Cleveland, which led to a question for quarterback Baker Mayfield about whether that makes it awkward for Johnson to be at the team’s minicamp.

Mayfield said it “can be a stir-up in the media,” but denied that it is awkward for anyone other than Johnson. He called Johnson’s situation “self-inflicted” and that the question for the running back is “what are you doing right now?”

“That’s something that we’ve been dealing with for a while,” Mayfield said, via Cleveland.com. “If we have guys that want to be here, they’ll show that, they’ll voice that. Obviously he’s going to handle his stuff how he wants, but you’re either on this train or you’re not, it’s moving. You can get out of the way or you can join us, so it is what it is.”

Johnson said on Tuesday that he won’t be a “disgruntled employee” and that he resisted doing any interviews before minicamp in order to keep the focus on the team rather than himself. He also added that he asked for a trade after the Browns were shopping him this offseason, although that detail may not be playing much of a role in Mayfield’s analysis of the situation.