The Deshaun Watson Story: Would Baker Mayfield Step Up & Play?
He’s still on the roster.
Yeah, you know who I’m talking about. This was the original guy that was supposed to resurrect the franchise. No, not Johnny Manziel, let’s stop with the jokes, my friends. Quarterback Baker Mayfield drafted out of Oklahoma was going to finally be the Browns quarterback to save the franchise and take this team places it’s never been before.
And honestly…he did.
Baker led the Browns to the team’s first playoff win since 1995 with a 48-37 victory over Big Ben and the hated Steelers on the road. It was a season where the team went 11-5 on the year. Ever since then, things have been a complete disaster.
Baker has struggled at the quarterback position, had a terrible injury to the shoulder and yet continued to try and play through it last season. The Browns went 8-9 and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
Certainly, the team knew that singing quarterback Deshaun Watson to replace Baker was a risk for a number of reasons. However, the fact that the Browns spent $230 million for five years shows they were prepared. Yet, I’m not certain they were prepared for just exactly what has occurred.
The HBO documentary with the two women against Watson.
The 23rd and 24th women coming forward with a claim against Watson.
It feels like the NFL is taking forever to make a decision and more issues are piling up…
Okay, after all of this…guess who remains? Baker Mayfield is on the roster.
Would the quarterback who at one time was a savior of this organization step up and play? The team owes him 18 million for this 5th season of his contract. No other team appears to want Mayfield in a trade or that would’ve happened already. The Browns don’t want to cut him and pay that 18 million either.
Of course, if I was Mayfield I would be in modern terms “salty.”
The Browns traded for Watson and essentially gave the middle finger to Mayfield saying that they don’t want him because we got this guy and paid so, so, much money for him. He struggled last season and still has a huge question mark with the shoulder injury and recovery.
With all that has happened, everything has changed. In life, don’t we once in a while say sorry to a friend or family member when we do something wrong? I know I do. Dad and Mom, if you’re reading this…I’m sorry.
The Browns might have to say sorry to Baker and allow him to start at quarterback. Even so, this all depends on what decision the NFL makes and how many games Watson gets suspended for. It could be eight, ten, the full year. We don’t know.
What Baker should do is take the opportunity, make the 18 million and prove everyone wrong. If Mayfield plays well on the Browns in the upcoming season, his value soars and other teams would actually want him for the future. Then, when Watson comes back to Cleveland, Baker’s contract is over and another team will want to sign him next offseason.
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