The Baker Mayfield Situation Has Been Handled Completely Wrong

AP Photo / Ron Schwane

Baker Mayfield is still a Cleveland Brown. The problem is he doesn’t want to be. Mayfield was the first overall pick in 2018 from Oklahoma. He became the first walk on to win the Heisman Trophy. He had a great rookie season breaking the rookie record for touchdown passes, and helped get the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 in his second year. Last season for Mayfield was an injury riddled campaign, including a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. He played through it and gave it everything he had. However, all of this is not enough for the Browns braintrust. They looked for better options and ultimately came away with Deshaun Watson. But in the process, they ruined the relationship with someone who was all in on making the Browns better.

Back And Forth

The Browns at first were told they were out of the running for Waston. When that happened, they had to backtrack and tell Mayfield that he was the quarterback moving forward. Before this all happened, his camp was informed that he would not be getting extended as he enters the last year of his rookie deal. Mayfield requested a trade to the Colts and that request was denied. When Watson had a change of heart and agreed to come to the Browns, he was awarded a fully guaranteed 230 million dollar contract - and that eliminated the need for Baker Mayfield. By the time the dust settled, Matt Ryan had already been traded to the Colts. Now a former top ten quarterback is in a city he now longer wants to be in, and the market has dried up.

This is not a good look for the Browns. For one, if Deshaun Watson did these terrible things, he is not someone who deserves to play football. Second, the fan base is now somewhat split on how they feel about this. Loyal fans are jumping off the train because of this trade. And finally, what kind of message does this send to the players? The Browns told Baker Mayfield he was the quarterback and days later looked for a replacement. Are the Browns going to go out and look for a new defensive end to replace Myles Garrett next? There are some players on the roster who probably don’t feel very secure right now. If the starting quarterback can be treated this way, then everyone is fair game.

Next Steps

Here’s what we know. The Falcons and the Panthers have both said that they are NOT interested in Baker Mayfield. Reports say there is a mutual disinterest between the quarterback and Carolina. The only logical landing spot for Mayfield at this point is Seattle. The Seahawks currently have Drew Lock as QB1 after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos. Yeah….that’s not going to work. The offensive philosophy is the same, run first to set up the pass. Don’t forget that Mayfield ran the Air Raid at Oklahoma, he can throw the ball all over the yard if given the opportunity. The Steelers are also reportedly interested in Mayfield’s services if he gets released.

On the flipside, the Browns from a football sense appear to be in good shape. Deshaun Watson throwing to Amari Cooper and handing off to Nick Chubb. Sounds pretty good, right? It absolutely does. But, it doesn’t change the fact that the Browns were wrong and they continue to be wrong in this situation. Stabbing a player in the back for not playing well, and he didn’t play well because his most important body part was seriously damaged after having a stellar first two years? If this is what the NFL has come to, we’ve got a serious problem.

Coming up next, we tap in to the AFC West!