Baker Mayfield is about actions, not words

With Christensen enlisted to work on his delivery during those sessions at Lake Travis High back in Austin, Tex., Mayfield got longtime NFL receivers Danny Amendola and Cole Beasley to show up to catch the passes.

The 33-year-old Beasley’s still trying to get back in the league, after catching 82 balls last year for the Bills. The 36-year-old Amendola’s comfortably retired, as evidenced by the fact a two-day visit with the Cardinals and his old buddy Kliff Kingsbury was followed by a two-week vacation to France.

“When you’re me, and you show up to work and Danny Amendola and Cole Beasley come out, and run routes for him privately, in the middle of their day, and they’re dripping sweat, and they’ll go for 90 minutes, non-stop until Baker’s had enough, three days a week. I say to them, ‘Why are you doing this, man?'” Christensen recalled. “They said, ‘I love that guy. That guy’s a dude. I want that guy to get what he deserves. I love that guy.’

“Two guys like that with their resumes saying that about him, my opinion doesn’t matter at that point. If I have a different opinion than those two cats, both huge overachievers with the bodies the good Lord gave them. Effort off the grid. And truly care about him that much when there’s nothing in it for them. Nothing. Just helping a friend. That’s the kind of guy an offensive lineman will follow into a fight. And that’s basically what this is on Sundays.

“We tend to forget in this business, it’s about gaining the respect of your peers, and he has mine because of the way he works and the way he’s wired.”

Beasley acknowledged he’d like to play again, and nothing in his 10 years in the league suggests he’s not capable. At the same time, nothing that was happening on the field at Lake Travis in March was necessarily getting him any closer to that goal, even though it was a short 15-minute drive from his home.

For him, seeing the way Mayfield was getting after it was all the motivation he needed.

“I always liked quarterbacks who are dogs — and there aren’t as many as you think,” Beasley said.