The Deshaun Watson trade was not the reason why Baker Mayfield turned against the Cleveland Browns.
Though many people will speculate the Deshaun Watson trade with the Houston Texans was the straw that broke the camel’s back, Baker Mayfield’s relationship with the Cleveland Browns had already soured several weeks prior to that.
Jake Trotter of ESPN reported Mayfield’s failing relationship with the Browns stems almost entirely from the Odell Beckham Jr. drama during the middle of the regular season.
“After Beckham’s father ripped Mayfield publicly and speculation grew about Beckham being on his way out, multiple players lobbied for Cleveland to keep OBJ on the team,” wrote Trotter.
It became very apparent how beloved Beckham was in the Browns locker room, thus creating further division between the struggling starting quarterback and the rest of the reeling AFC North franchise.
“As one source put it, the way Beckham exited Cleveland “poisoned the well” for Mayfield with some teammates,” continued Trotter.
While Beckham tasted Super Bowl glory with the Los Angeles Rams, he and Mayfield are eagerly waiting what’s next for them heading into next NFL season.
The Odell Beckham Jr. fallout led to Baker Mayfield turning on Cleveland Browns
Look. The Beckham drama did not help Mayfield’s case to get a longer run with Cleveland, but he did seemingly everything wrong when it came to being a franchise quarterback in this league. He may have felt the need to play with a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder, but he won the Heisman Trophy and was the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma for a reason. Mayfield was never a scrub.
With the Browns having new leadership upstairs and on the sidelines, this was not the regime who drafted him. While his underdog personality played well at times in Cleveland, it ultimately led to his downfall. It has contributed to him being long without a seat in the game of NFL quarterback musical chairs. At this time, the Browns are best served to cut him just to move on from this mess.
Ultimately, Mayfield can still have success in this league, but he is never going to have the type of free rein he once had coming out of Oklahoma. He may have to tap into that underdog mentality once again. Though more than quintupling down on it could lead us back to this exact same point in the years to follow, how he adjusts mentally will determine if he has staying power in the NFL.
Don’t expect Mayfield to throw passes to Beckham wherever these two marquee players end up.