Ok, let's talk a bit about a contract for Baker Mayfield.

For the Browns, certainly they have questions after a disappointing 2021. Now to be fair, the QB was injured in week 3 but still played. It can be argued whether he should have played or not but what cannot be argued is his attitude to play under whatever circumstance to help the team win. The team wants a tough QB yet now we want to complain because he is just that. The Browns like the good Baker but not so much the bad Baker. Is the QB we have the Baker of the last half of 2020 and the first 2 games of 2021 or the Baker we seen the majority of weeks 3-17? Baker is cheap comparatively speaking in 2022 so keeping him is a no brainer. So how do we make Mayfield successful in 2022? First, Baker has some mechanics to work on but foremost needs to get healthy. Are the Browns committed to making Baker successful? Do we have a QB Coach focused only on the QB's - NO! Do we have a good receiving group - NO! Is our team built toward what Baker does best - NO! If the 2020 Baker emerges, does that fix the offense or are there underlying issues ranging from personnel to coaching to play calling? Where's our biggest focus, offense or defense or how can it be balance while addressing both now? Finally, what's our plan going into 2022 for a good Baker or a bad Baker? What about 2023, with what will be a veteran team, do we start over with the QB or the Coach - which has the higher risk to 2023 and beyond? What is more detrimental to the team in 2022 - a show what you have done for me lately pressure on our franchise QB or win or be bounced pressure on the FO, Head Coach and his staff? Tough questions but those that must be answered and soon!

For Baker, I think some people need to see where he might be coming from. Baker was drafted by a team that had a 1-31 record the previous 2-years. As a rookie, he broke the TD record while starting only 13 games with 27 TD passes leading the team to a 6-7 record in his starts (5 more games won than the previous 2-years). Year 2, enter a new Head coach-staff-and scheme, yet expectations remain very high. Baker has a 6-10 record with 22 TD passes but his interception rate rises. This is cause for concern but Baker is playing at a level the Browns expected when drafting him but he needs to clean up some of the decision making product. Year 3 and enter another new Head Coach, staff and scheme again for Mayfield to adjust to. In 2020, there hasn't been a single QB in the NFL besides Baker that had been tasked with having 3 different Head Coaches in their first 3-years. Baker leads the Browns to a 11-5 record with their first playoff appearance in 18-years and first playoff win in 26-years. Baker still playing under his rookie deal is then not resigned to a new deal but had his 5th year option exercised giving him 18.5 million in year 5. Baker still hoping for a new deal is basically told 2021 is a prove it year. Now in 2021, there's a direct disparity between what Baker is allowed to do at QB compared to the other top QB's in the league under Stefanski's scheme. There were 22 QB's or 68.75% of the QB's had more passing attempts than Baker in 2021. To go a little further, 9 QB's had 150 or more attempts in 2021 than Mayfield did. 7 of the 9 made the playoffs with only Herbert and Lawrence failing. Only 1, Lawrence, had a losing record in 2021. 8 players had more interceptions than Baker including Burrows and Carr who some here have campaigned for as a replacement. Add to the fact that Baker played injured during weeks 3-17. Whether you want to accept that as a reason or an excuse is disputable - being injured isn't. Baker's WR group with promises of gander turned out to be one of the weakest in the NFL. The 3-TE sets crushed the explosiveness of the passing game with only 1 WR on the field and seriously damaged the promising run game by allowing defenses to play 8-9 in the box. Play calling was suspect, very predictable and game time coaching adjustments were nonexistent. With all that, Baker moved forward losing 6 games by 6 points or less playing in the run first offense. As if on cue, Baker is blamed for all the losses and zero glory for what's he does or the fact the team is finally competitive. So now Baker is being presented another show me year and if healthy will most likely be fine. But as a player, do you really want a future where the fans issue bodily threats for losses and the team doesn't support what you've done? When Baker came to Cleveland it was a cesspool of a team. 3 different times he's had to adjust and learn a new offense to the point that even now the team doesn't run a scheme that actually plays to the skill set strengths he was drafted for. Playing injured with a crappy WR group - weak ass TE's due to the sets they played - the #1 and #2 running backs missing significant time - and that's before we get to the o-line problems that had weekly isssues, yet Mayfield takes the heat. To the fans (and the team to a lesser extent) Mayfield is the problem and he needs to be replaced.

So now Baker is in another prove it year. The FO and Stefanski are on the edge also. The longer they wait to resign Baker the more pressure it's going to create for both parties. A good Baker is going to remember how the team and fans turned on him. A bad Baker will almost certainly deliver Berry and Stefanski walking papers. Some day we might see a FO and Coach that builds their team to the skill set of the QB. 2023 could be QB 32.0 since 1999 and Head Coach 13.0 without some drastic changes this off season.