At this point, it seems pretty obvious that the Cleveland Browns did not exactly handle the Baker Mayfield situation the right way. They gave up on the former No. 1 overall pick after four years with the team, traded for Deshaun Watson, and, well, here we are.
Now, Mayfield is a Pro Bowl quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Browns are stuck paying $230 million for a guy who has only played 19 games under center since being acquired via trade in March 2022.
If Cleveland had a mulligan, it would surely go back and change how things transpired with Mayfield, and former Browns running back Leroy Hoard — who played for Cleveland from 1990 through 1995 — has made it very clear that the team made a mistake in letting him go.
“(Baker) had a contract that was up. He tried to play through the shoulder. He couldn’t do it. And everybody just said he sucked. They didn’t put any text context behind it. No, he sucks. So the Browns let him go," Hoard said during an appearance on the Go Long podcast. "Now, I tell you what, I’m going to be honest with you. If I was the Browns owner, you know what I would have right now? Baker Mayfield as my quarterback and $230 million in my pocket.”
Cleveland drafted Mayfield back in 2018 and saw him finish second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting during his debut campaign after totaling 27 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
After taking a step back in Year 2, Mayfield led the Browns to their first playoff appearance in nearly two decades in 2020, rattling off 26 touchdowns and eight picks. Not only that, but he led them to a Wild Card Round playoff win over the hated rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
The University of Oklahoma product then struggled through 2021 due to the aforementioned shoulder injury, resulting in Cleveland dumping him for Watson.
Fast forward to 2025, and Mayfield is coming off of a brilliant campaign in which he finished with 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions for the Buccaneers, posting a 106.8 passer rating.
Would Mayfield have found the same sort of success with the Browns? No one can say for sure, but it's hard to imagine they would be in worse shape than they are now had they kept him.
