Browns Make Their Pitch to Deshaun Watson as Baker Mayfield's Days Appear Numbered
The Cleveland Browns got in the door. They got their meeting with Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, they came off better than expected. They have given themselves the best chance they could hope for, which still may not be enough.
Regardless of who was the driving force behind the interest in Watson, the Browns as an organization have made the decision they are okay with Watson and everything that comes with him. All of the talent and all of the baggage.
Part of that calculation is the landscape of the AFC, which has an unending supply of top tier quarterbacks. The Browns have to face Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson twice each season, but they also have to contend with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Josh Allen.
An organization that has talked at length about the importance of the quarterback position since general manager Andrew Berry was hired is prepared to make a Faustian bargain to compete at the highest levels. In doing so, they were prepared to lose Baker Mayfield, regardless of whether they landed Watson or not.
The Browns and Mayfield parting ways may prove to be the best move for both sides. It's unfortunate that Mayfield's last year was played injured and there's a question of what might have happened if he shut it down after week two when he initially suffered the injury. It shows just how cold the business of the NFL can be and it's been fairer to Mayfield than most.
If the troubling accusations surrounding Watson aren't a big enough deterrent now, they weren't likely to be in any scenario. The Browns still pursue him, believing he possesses the elite talent they need to win a championship. They are clearly willing to do just about anything to get a quarterback of that caliber.
Mayfield certainly warrants his share of the blame for what went wrong with the Browns. Any success he had was usually accompanied by missteps of his own making, especially this past season.
Mayfield's tenure also highlights just how difficult it is to succeed at the quarterback position when in an organization constantly in flux. The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens took quarterbacks in the 2018 NFL Draft just as the Browns did. It didn't hurt them starting on better teams, but Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson had the same head coach and offensive coordinator for all four seasons. Allen's offensive coordinator Brian Daboll leaving for the New York Giants head coaching job this offseason is the most radical change either have experienced.
In four seasons with the Browns, Mayfield had Hue Jackson, Gregg Williams and Freddie Kitchens as head coaches before getting two seasons with Kevin Stefanski, the second of which he spent injured. Mayfield was still able to lead the Browns to their first playoff win in decades, but this was always a recipe for inconsistency and disappointment, which is what they got with Mayfield. The hope was that he'd somehow get through it, despite the chaos. The Browns have determined that simply won't happen and once again, that might be the right decision.
Maybe Mayfield simply wasn't good enough, but the Browns played a significant role in his demise in Cleveland. Whether it's Deshaun Watson or someone else taking the snaps for the Browns next season, the organization need to be done with the dysfunction handicapping the position.
