Baker Mayfield impending divorce with Browns, ‘I feel disrespected’

This offseason, the stint of Baker Mayfield in Cleveland came to an abrupt and brutal end. Unsurprisingly, he is dissatisfied with how things turned out.

Mayfield, who had previously been deafeningly quiet, recently spoke out on the Ya Neva Know Podcast, expressing his disgust with the Browns’ choice to replace him with Deshaun Watson.

“I feel disrespected,” Baker Mayfield said. “One-hundred percent because I was told one thing and they completely did another. That’s what I’m in the middle of right now. I got my taste of it because I’ve had four different head coaches in four years, a bunch of different coordinators.

“Talk about the highs? They always come back. They always come back. But I’ve had great times my rookie year. I didn’t start in the beginning. I came in and got to have fun in the back half of the year. 2019 sucked. 2020 was great, made the playoffs. 2021 was miserable.”

Mayfield’s stint with the Browns was difficult, as he alluded to. In Week 3 of his rookie season, the first-overall pick of the 2018 draft saw his first NFL action, replacing an injured Tyrod Taylor and led the Browns to their first win in over a calendar year. Cleveland and Mayfield appeared to have a bright future, and despite a disappointing 2019 season, the quarterback ended up leading the Browns to their first postseason appearance since 2002 and their first postseason triumph since 1994.

The following year proved to be his downfall. Mayfield injured his shoulder in Week 2 and tried to play despite the pain, but his performance plummeted as a result. The Browns, who were once considered Super Bowl contenders, ended 8-9 and missed the playoffs, and Mayfield was labelled as a scapegoat as well as a major question issue for the organisation heading ahead.

Disgruntled Browns supporters and NFL fans didn’t hold back their criticism as Mayfield failed, aggravating the quarterback who had the potential to be Cleveland’s football saviour just a year before.

Baker Mayfield was not amused by the hostility.

“I would love to show up to somebody’s cubicle and just boo the s— out of them,” Mayfield said. “Watch them crumble.”

Cleveland was contemplating its options and looking for a successor for Mayfield after the end of another disappointing season. The Browns had already burned the bridge with Mayfield when they signed Watson in a blockbuster deal with the Houston Texans.

While the Browns were still pursuing Watson, Mayfield sought a trade. “I’m just looking for stabilization right now.” he said on his podcast appearance. He’s still on Cleveland’s roster with no destination in sight.

“I know what I need to do for me to be the best version of me and to be able to lead an organization,” Baker Mayfield said. “I’m in a good place right now. I have no clue where I’m going.”

Baker Mayfield didn’t have much consistency at Cleveland, where he spent four seasons under four different head coaches and offensive coordinators. In each of his last two seasons, he’s had the same head coach (Kevin Stefanski), but he’s had radically different results.

He’s aiming for the same kind of consistency with his next team, which is still up in the air, especially since the Colts acquired Matt Ryan.

“This would’ve been a week-and-a-half ago, I would’ve said Indianapolis,” Baker Mayfield said, adding Seattle is “probably the most likely option.”

“Even then, no idea,” the QB continued. “I’m ready for the next chapter, the next opportunity because the only one I’m guaranteed with the next spot is one year. I have one more year of a guaranteed contract. I have one year wherever I go, and it’s my next interview. It’s something to put on my resume for the next job, whether it be I play that year wherever it’s gonna be and they extend me for longer or if it’s that year and I get picked up somewhere else. I know I have this one year to do as much as I possibly can. It’s not extra pressure. It’s just… I’ve been here before.”

Baker Mayfield is still on the Browns’ roster because he isn’t a tradeable commodity. Mayfield’s deal is only good for one more season (2022), with a fully guaranteed salary of around $18 million. The majority of teams looking for quarterbacks have already addressed their needs, and few will be willing to guarantee $18 million to a quarterback who could end up being a one-year rental with uncertain upside.

The Seahawks have Drew Lock pencilled in as their starter following the huge trade that brought Russell Wilson to Seattle, and it appears that Seattle is the best remaining fit. Pete Carroll hasn’t said he wants to rebuild for a long time, but Lock isn’t a sure thing at quarterback for a team that wants to compete in 2022.

However, few, if any, teams will be eager to reach an agreement with Cleveland, which has Watson and Mayfield on its roster and hence no negotiating leverage. To reach an agreement, the Browns may have to attach a draft pick to any transaction involving Mayfield, and Cleveland may be compelled to release Mayfield in order to settle their bitter divorce.

Mayfield’s time in Cleveland is gone, regardless of how they split. Regardless of how Stefanski and Browns general manager Andrew Berry position themselves publicly, there is no other situation in which the two parties can work together constructively. It’s too poisonous to salvage, as Mayfield’s comments showed.

Mayfield’s arrival in Cleveland marked a watershed moment for the team, which had gone through an unprecedented amount of quarterbacks since returning to the NFL in 1999. Baker Mayfield provided the steadiness he now wants elsewhere for four seasons. Even as his No. 6 jerseys flood discount shelves around northeast Ohio, he believes his efforts will not be forgotten in Cleveland.

“I really, truly, honestly have no regrets of my time in Cleveland of what I tried to give that place,” Mayfield said. “True Clevelanders and true Browns fans know that. That’s why I can walk away from the whole situation feeling like I did it.”

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