Quarterback Catastrophe in Cleveland

The quarterback situation for the Cleveland Browns this offseason was nothing short of dramatic and filled with lots of unanswered questions. Cleveland’s front office’s approach after the season ended was to build a "win now" team. I believe they have built a playoff team on paper, but this fiasco has gone further than what is on paper.

When the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes began to heat up, Cleveland became involved out of nowhere. One may think there wasn't anything wrong with a team simply doing their due diligence, but in this case, the Browns went about it in a completely awful manner.

Let’s backtrack a bit. After years of missing the playoffs and struggling to find their quarterback of the future more times than a person can count on their fingers, they finally found their guy with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft: Baker Mayfield. Mayfield brought the Cleveland Browns back to relevance by providing them with multiple wins and a playoff appearance ending their long postseason drought. Not only did he lead them to the playoffs, but he also secured a win against their divisional rivals, the Pittsburg Steelers in that playoff run. He then nearly won in the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champs, and the eventual AFC champs that year. However, Baker Mayfield had an injury-riddled year the following season and did not play great.

This one below-average season was apparently enough for the Browns’ front office to want to move on from the former Heisman Trophy recipient. It was a disaster of a season for them. But, to hit the "abandon ship" button right away on your first decent quarterback in most football fans’ lifetime was just absolutely mind-boggling to me.

The Browns no doubt got a better QB than Mayfield in Deshaun Watson, but they did not communicate with Mayfield and immediately replaced him with a player with the most uncertain future in the NFL. The Browns traded for the former Clemson Tiger and gave him the highest guaranteed contract in NFL history: 5 years, $230 million. Due to the multiple allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct filed against Watson, he was originally suspended for 6 games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy by a disciplinary officer who was jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL players' association. However, the NFL successfully appealed the suspension extending the 6-game absence to 11 games this season. Additionally, he will also receive a fine of 5 million dollars and undergo a treatment program. The Browns are lucky there that Watson wasn’t designated a more severe punishment because I originally thought he would get suspended for at least a year with a fine.

The Cleveland Browns gambled and it looks like it will not pay off this season at least. Watson has looked rusty in training camp and in his preseason opener, so only time will tell how he will bounce back. However, I do not expect him to play at the level he was once, right off the bat, when he comes back. Now, the Browns are currently preparing to start backup journeyman, Jacoby Brisset. Brisset is not a bad QB, but he’s nowhere close to the level of Mayfield and Watson.

Although there are a lot of questions about the Cleveland Browns program's success in the immediate and long-term future, there is one thing that is for certain. Baker Mayfield and the Browns’ relationship is over and he will receive a fresh start on the Carolina Panthers.

How do you think Mayfield is going to perform this coming season, as he leaves the shadow of the Cleveland Browns and steps onto the football field
repping the Carolina Panther blue?