Baker Mayfield doesn't need a parade but deserves better treatment from Browns | Opinion

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Baker Mayfield is not your quintessential NFL quarterback. He is undersized and over-caffeinated compared to the taller and more even-keeled QBs who dominate the position.

For every wired Mayfield there is a more composed Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. For every Jim McMahon there was a Joe Montana and John Elway. It’s not that flash and brash or offbeat personalities can’t succeed — see Aaron Rodgers, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler — but the position lends itself to a low drama approach. See Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning and Roger Staubach.   

For that reason, I would have considered, but ultimately not drafted, Mayfield at No. 1 in 2018, as the Cleveland Browns did.

Before the 2018 NFL draft, I wrote: “All things being equal, I would take Mayfield over (Josh) Allen. But all things are not equal, because Mayfield can be a knucklehead, which casts suspicion on his NFL career.”

What did Baker Mayfield bring to the Browns?

Mayfield is no Johnny Manziel, whose immaturity and sense of entitlement led to his downfall, but he is not enough of a calm-under-fire Matthew Stafford to lead Cleveland to a Super Bowl title.

Let’s be straight about that, but also straight about what Mayfield brought to Cleveland. This free bird freed the Browns from embarrassment, helping turn a franchise that went 1-31 over the 2016 and 2017 seasons into a 2020 playoff team that nearly advanced to the AFC championship game. 

Say what you will about Mayfield, that he usually came up short in the clutch or that he played through an injury when doing so actually hurt the team, but … hey, wait a minute, why make it sound like Baker has left the Browns? The truth is the Browns left him. Owner Jimmy Haslam and his cast of characters have treated Mayfield like the loyal family dog after the first baby arrives. Nice knowing you, pooch. Now go to your corner. 

I’m not saying Cleveland needs to throw a parade for Mayfield but at least throw him a bigger bone. Show the man more respect for having raised the bar on a beleaguered franchise that just five years ago was the laughingstock of sports.

Before Mayfield arrived, there was an audition line of Browns quarterbacks wrapping around the Factory of Sadness and out to the Terminal Tower. Cleveland started more than one quarterback in 17 consecutive seasons before Mayfield started every game in 2019. Maybe the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner wasn’t the ultimate answer, but he was a better option than anything offered over the previous two decades.

What's next for the Browns and Baker Mayfield?

There I go again, writing as if Mayfield is already gone. He’s not. At least not yet. It just feels that way because the Charlie Browns bungle anything they touch. They blindsided Mayfield by going after Deshaun Watson without first telling their starting quarterback, then faced an especially awkward situation when they initially failed to lure Watson from Houston.

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Now that they have Watson under contract, at $230 million guaranteed, Mayfield is expendable. The Browns would rather take a chance on Watson, who still faces possible league discipline over accusations of sexual assault or misconduct, than give Mayfield more time to prove he can win games when healthy.  

Is Baker Mayfield tradeable?

The 27-year-old has a 29-30 record and is coming off surgery for a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. His career passer rating of 87.8 is far from spectacular, but he is more than serviceable for any team in need of a quarterback.

I would enjoy seeing Pittsburgh make a play, to further heat the rivalry. And be honest, Steelers fans: You would feel more confident with Mayfield than Mitch Trubisky.

The Browns would never let that happen, but general manager Andrew Berry most certainly is fielding other trade offers. Who will blink first? What will teams give up to take on Mayfield’s $18.9 million guaranteed contract? Or will they all sit back and force the Browns to release their disgruntled quarterback?

No matter what, the Browns should work with Mayfield, not against him. He is not the franchise quarterback Cleveland hoped for, but he brought the city’s most beloved team back from the dead. Time to show appreciation by letting this caged bird go free.