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Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns now have a problem. The Browns looked like they were about to trade Baker Mayfield for Deshaun Watson, but that deal has fallen through, and now Baker Mayfield wants to be traded.
The Browns told Baker Mayfield that since they didn't get Deshaun Watson, Cleveland is where he will be (at least for now), and he will be their quarterback this season. Thinking that he was leaving, Mayfield put out this thank you message to Cleveland fans.
Mayfield, naturally, is upset with the Browns and wants out, but some NFL analysts think that rather than whine about the situation, he should show the Browns what he is made of.
That's what Kyle Brandt of Good Morning Football thinks:
“If I look at Baker and I sat him down would give him some tough love? I'd say ‘look, Deshaun Watson is better than you dude. They went after him. They got a business to run. They didn't get him. You're under contract. Your whole deal has been about going against people who slight you or doubt you. Now your own team is doing it."
Brandt doubled down on his comments and added:
"Play a double middle finger season against your own team and ownership and then cash in.’ But it's probably too awkward to do that. You know what though guys, what is it, March 18th? There's so long until kickoff the idea that ‘it's done.’ Nonsense. We've seen way too much ground made up in too many other places. And if the Browns don't follow up with another quarterback? Then you bring Baker back and you hope you get the 2020 version and it's an all-time front row awkward fest. But we have about five months to figure that out.”
Why Baker Mayfield needs to prove his worth to the team
The Browns were looking to trade Baker Mayfield because he hasn't lived up to the hype, especially last year.
One of the reasons wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. left Cleveland is because he didn't have a great relationship with his quarterback, and some people tried to say it was Beckham's fault.
But after watching Mayfield perform this year, the blame squarely fell on Mayfield's shoulders. One of the primary examples of this is losing by two points, 24-22, to the Green Bay Packers on Christmas Day last year, a game in which Mayfield threw four interceptions and cost the Browns the victory.
What also hurts Mayfield is the play of cross-state rival Joe Burrow, who, in his second year, took the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl.
If Mayfield wants to be considered "the man" in Cleveland or anywhere else, he must make himself a valuable part of the team. He needs to play better if he wants the respect he thinks he deserves.
