Baker Mayfield isn’t feeling great.
The former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft suffered through an awful season. A torn labrum in his non-throwing arm limited him on the field as his Cleveland Browns vacated the momentum from 2020’s playoff win — the franchise’s first since New Year’s Day 1995 — and slid back to the AFC North’s basement.
Now he has to deal with the fact that the only franchise he’s ever known flirted with the idea of adding Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson via trade. The Browns were one of four teams interested in dealing for the three-time Pro Bowler, who sat out all of 2021 as authorities investigated multiple claims of sexual assault against him (criminal charges were not filed, though civil suits remain and the league has been quiet about possible punishment).
Mayfield, seeing the writing on the wall, took to social media to assure Cleveland that, no, he didn’t know any more about what comes next than they do:
With many uncertainties, here is where my head and heart is. pic.twitter.com/psipN96cmh
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) March 16, 2022
It’s tough not to feel bad for Mayfield. Last season was a disaster. The upcoming season is the final year of his contract. His team clearly feels it can do better without him.
But here’s the thing; it probably can’t. Thursday’s reports suggest Cleveland is no longer in the running for Watson. Now the Browns aren’t feeling great either.
The #Browns have been informed they’re out of the running for Deshaun Watson, a source says. The team still views Baker Mayfield as their quarterback going forward. They told Mayfield’s agents at the Combine they’d only explore top-tier QBs such as Watson.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 17, 2022
Here’s what we’ve got on the surface in Cleveland:
- a quarterback who feels unwanted
- a front office who didn’t want him
- a franchise that has last most, if not all, of the optimism of 2021’s playoff run.
But there’s still a reason to think the Browns could pull through and improve on last year’s 8-9 campaign. What if a hidden benefit of these trade talks was to light a fire under Mayfield? What if the Browns are poking their quarterback with a stick in hopes he channels his frustration onto the field and realizes his potential?
Beyond that, there’s no surefire better option than Mayfield available in free agency or via trade besides Watson. The rest of the remaining quarterback market offers no reliable upgrade — a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo or free agent deal for Jameis Winston is probably the best-case scenario. Either would almost certainly end with the Browns eating $18.8 million in cap space by either making Mayfield a backup or releasing him outright. For Berry, this was a binary choice, and his top option Watson isn’t available.
So instead, Cleveland stoked the flames underneath its incumbent knowing he responds to heat. We know Mayfield thrives on disrespect. College recruiters didn’t like him, so he walked on at Texas Tech (spurning offers from Rice, Florida Atlantic, and New Mexico) and threw for nearly 300 yards per game as a true freshman. The Red Raiders confronted him with a quarterback competition for their starting role despite that eye-opening debut, so he transferred to Oklahoma and lit the Big 12 on fire in Norman instead.
He played well as a rookie with the Browns and made a connection with interim offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens. When Kitchens was promoted to the top job in hopes of unlocking Mayfield’s potential, he slumped. After Kitchens was fired and questions set in about Baker’s ability to be a franchise quarterback, he returned to form in 2020 and led Cleveland to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Last season saw a backslide thanks in large part to his shoulder injury and criticism lobbed from all angles, including his own star wideout’s father. Now he faces a prove-it year with free agency pending in 2023. Kevin Stefanski was able to skim Mayfield’s bad habits off his top layer in 2020 when each — a debuting head coach and questionable franchise QB — had something to prove. Could they be at it again?
The Browns have reportedly failed in their pursuit for Watson. They succeeded in disrespecting their incumbent QB, who has taken similar slights and spun gold from them.
Of course, there’s also the counter argument that purposefully angering your franchise quarterback is stupid and that even if Mayfield does come through in 2022, he could refuse to re-sign with the franchise that wanted to deal him away just a year earlier. While the Browns could franchise tag him in hopes of mending fences, the risk of creating a Washington-Kirk Cousins situation would be very real. There are already rumors swirling the rift between the two sides could be unmendable.
After some conversations, even if the Cleveland Browns are not able to land QB Deshaun Watson, the sense I get is Baker Mayfield will still consider other options.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 16, 2022
But 2023 will have a healthier crop of rookie quarterbacks ready at the draft and similarly underwhelming veterans set to hit the open market (Teddy Bridgewater, Daniel Jones, possibly Derek Carr).
That’s putting the cart in front of the horse for a franchise best distilled one year at a time thanks to an overwhelming history. The rest of the AFC North has spent its offseason improving. The Steelers added the blocking they badly need. The Bengals retained Jessie Bates and added the linemen capable of keeping Joe Burrow upright. The Ravens got a player they hope will be their next franchise safety in free agency, Marcus Williams, along with pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and will hopefully return a healthy Lamar Jackson in 2022.
Cleveland has added receiver Amari Cooper, released 2021 starters JC Tretter and Jarvis Landry, signed depth pieces like Taven Bryan and Grant, and traded for a pass rusher Bill Belichick no longer wanted. Clearly more needs to be done to keep pace in an already difficult division.
So here’s Berry’s swing. He failed to land a game-changing quarterback. In the process, he reminded Mayfield it’s do-or-die time — not just with the Browns but as a starting quarterback in the NFL. And “you shouldn’t have doubted Baker Mayfield” is the best version of Baker Mayfield.
That’s why joining the Watson sweepstakes was a win for the Browns. Even if he’s not heading to Cleveland.
