Former Browns QB Baker Mayfield will compete in Pro Bowl games this weekend in OrlandoLe Bron or MJ? Democrat or Republican?
Edward or Jacob? Baker or Deshaun? you’re a Cleveland Browns fan, this last one might be the most combustible debate of all.
And after two seasons of the Deshaun Watson Project, the fuel on the flames shows no signs of dying down.
Whether it’s from national television pundits, local reporters and radio hosts, or social media wars between cliques that have become known as the “Baker Bros” and “Watson Warriors,” opinions on how the Browns will manage their quarterback room should have be handled sensibly the 2021 offseason is louder than ever.
Why?Baker Mayfield, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made his first career Pro BowlMayfield, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018 by the Browns, remains as polarizing as ever within the fan base despite him not being on the roster for two seasons.
Mayfield was rushed out of town by GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski, leaving Cleveland as the first quarterback to lead the Browns to the playoffs since a combination of Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb in the 2002 season, and the first to win a postseason win competition.
by Vinny Testaverde in 1994During the 2020 season, Mayfield surpassed Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for most wins as a starter at Cleveland Browns Stadium, then led his team to an 11–5 regular season record. A win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs quickly followed against the Roethlisberger-led Steelers before ultimately falling to the Chiefs in the divisional round.And yet the Browns coaching staff and front office decided they needed an upgrade. Enter Deshaun Watson.
Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl player with the Houston Texans, was acquired from Cleveland in a much-maligned trade in which the Browns sent three first-round draft picks to the Texans in exchange for the franchise’s QB, despite other allegations of sexual assault.
There were 20 women against the star player. Undeterred by the allegations and resulting suspensions, Watson was awarded a new five-year, $230 million contract, with every penny guaranteed.Even if the off-field issues were resolved, Watson, now two years into his record-breaking contract, failed to live up to expectations. Since he has only played 12 games out of a possible 34, availability has not been there, whether due to injury or the aforementioned suspension which canceled 11 games of his 2022 season.
WhenWatson was on the field, the level of play could best be described as inconsistent. This season alone, his highlight came when he beat the defending AFC North champion Bengals in Week 1, immediately followed by a miss against the rival Steelers in Week 2.
Watson then played perhaps his most complete game of the season when he beat the Titans. third week.However, he injured his shoulder during the match, which kept him out for the next five weeks. After a walk against the hapless Cardinals in his return in Week 9, Watson led an incredible 14-point comeback against the Ravens in Baltimore, where he didn’t throw an incompletion on 14 pass attempts in the second period, and led the team in the final minutes of a game-winning drive and secured a 33:31 victory over the division rivals.
But a few days later it was announced that he would miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
Arethe 49ers the ONLY good team in the NFL? | Stack the boxXBrowns fans wondered what could have happened as Baker Mayfield basked in Pro Bowl gloryFormer Browns QB Baker Mayfield to play in Pro Bowl games this weekend in OrlandoBy Johnathan Jordan | 7:00 a.m. CSTBaker Mayfield, Browns / Ronald Martinez/GettyImagesLeBron or MJ? Democrat or Republican? Edward or Jacob? Baker or Deshaun?If you’re a Cleveland Browns fan, this last one might be the most heated debate of all.
And two seasons into the Deshaun Watson project, there’s no sign of the fuel going out in the flames.
Whetherit’s pundits on national television, local journalists and radio hosts, or social media wars between cliques known as the “Baker Bros” and the “Watson Warriors”, The opinions are the same on how the Browns should have run their quarterback room during the 2021 offseason. as strong as ever.
Why?Baker Mayfield, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, made his first career Pro Bowl.
Mayfield, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2018 by the Browns, remains as polarizing as ever within the fan base despite him not being on the roster for two seasons.
Mayfield was rushed out of town by GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski, leaving Cleveland as the first quarterback to lead the Browns to the playoffs since a combination of Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb in the 2002 season, and the first to win a postseason win competition. by Vinny Testaverde in 1994.During the 2020 season, Mayfield surpassed Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger for most wins as a starter at Cleveland Browns Stadium, then led his team to an 11–5 regular season record. A win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs quickly followed against the Roethlisberger-led Steelers before ultimately falling to the Chiefs in the divisional round.
Andyet the Browns coaching staff and front office decided they needed an upgrade. Enter Deshaun Watson.Watson, a three-time Pro Bowl player with the Houston Texans, was acquired from Cleveland in a much-maligned trade in which the Browns sent three first-round picks to the Texans in exchange for the franchise’s QB, despite still more players sexually assaulting.
him 20 women made accusations against the star player. Undeterred by the allegations and resulting suspensions, Watson was awarded a new five-year, $230 million contract, with every penny guaranteed.
Even excluding off-field issues, Watson, now on a record-breaking two-year contract, has failed to live up to expectations.
With only twelve of a possible 34 games played, his availability was non-existent, whether due to injury or the aforementioned suspension, which resulted in the loss of eleven games of his 2022 season.
WheneverWatson has been on the field, the level of play can be described as inconsistent at best.
This season alone culminated in the elimination of the defending AFC North champion Bengals in Week 1, immediately followed by a loss to the rival Steelers in Week 2. Watson then played perhaps his most complete game of the season in a shout from the Titans.
week three. However, he suffered a shoulder injury during the match, which would keep him out for the next five weeks.
After a walk in the park against the hapless Cardinals in his Week 9 return, Watson led a stunning 14-point comeback against the Ravens in Baltimore, in which he did not commit an incompletion in 14 second-half pass attempts, and led the team in the final minutes on a game-winning drive to earn a 33-31 victory over their division rivals.
But a few days later it was announced that he would miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury.
Positionstability, one of the primary reasons for leaving Mayfield in favor of Watson, had once again eluded the Browns organization.
Mayfield, meanwhile, started all 17 games for the Buccaneers, posting a 9-8 record and a division title in the less-than-stellar NFC South. With his consistency issues, Mayfield’s performance from a statistical standpoint almost resembled his 2020 season with the Browns.
The game also ended the same way, with a win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs against the Eagles, followed by a loss against the Lions in the Divisional round.
The Buccaneers are now expected to attempt to re-sign their newest Pro Bowler, soon to be an unrestricted free agent, in a deal that would be exponentially larger than the one-year, $6.85 million contract Mayfield signed this year. season played.
The Browns, on the other hand, are forced to pay Watson $138 million over the next three seasons, for better or worse. Before any contract negotiations, Mayfield will spend this weekend with his teammates at the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, in beautiful weather and surrounded by palm trees.
Meanwhile, the city of Cleveland just recorded its third cloudiest January in 70 years. Is this symbolism of things to come, or will Watson and the Browns eventually take back some of Baker’s sunshine? Only time will tell, but until then the debates rage on.
