I don't think they are worried about where he plays. I think they simply want to recoup something roughly approximating what they see as his value. Unfortunately, it seems the most value they are going to get for him may come in the form of a compensatory pick unless some team needs an injury replacement. Until we had Watson, his best value was as our QB. If you don't have a legitimate QB in the NFL, your team is pretty screwed. There didn't appear to be a safe bet in the draft. Watson appeared to be a long shot, until he wasn't. Watson might not be available this season.
Baker keeps complaining about being lied to. He wasn't. They did what they told him they were going to do. They're always looking to make the team better.
The "they set me up to fail narrative" also seems a bit ludicrous. He wanted to play. They invested in a great OL, running backs room, high priced FA TE, drafted a Mackey award winning TE and also had a young, athletic former first round TE, and he had two highly paid WRs (one of which he ran off.) Injuries happened, that's the business.
When the going gets tough, Baker finds somebody else to blame. He did it at Texas Tech, and now he's doing it here. The whole chip on his shoulder thing is becoming (has been?) more of a negative than a positive. That seems to tend to happen with externally motivated people.
I feel Baker's best approach is to do what the team preaches and put in the work. Control what he can control. Look good on the field, and someone will give him a chance. The Browns paying him to play somewhere else while getting nothing in return doesn't make much sense, especially when Watson's availability is still up in the air.
Suck it up, and be a pro. You're being paid millions to play a game. Appreciate what you've got, and make the best of it.
| 
