It’s been three years since the Cleveland Browns cut ties with quarterback Baker Mayfield.
They acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans while Mayfield was still on the team, all while diminishing his trade value and sending a message about his future.
Fast forward to today, and the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 NFL Draft is playing like a star for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Browns still don’t have a franchise QB.
Nevertheless, Aaron Goldhammer believes the Browns made the right decision about Mayfield, based on what he showed while in Cleveland.
“He had a lot of growing up to do, he totally split and turned off the locker room, he played terrible, and the Browns didn’t want to give him a big contract,” Goldhammer said.
.@HammerNation19 is over the revisionist history with the Browns/Baker story.
"He had a lot of growing up to do, he totally split and turned off the locker room, he played terrible, and the Browns didn't want to give him a big contract."
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/t2ukc9SUGN
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 16, 2025
Perhaps the truth is somewhere in between.
Granted, Mayfield was immature and never lived up to the hype, some of which he generated himself.
To be fair, he did help the Browns reach the playoffs for the first time in almost two decades, and he also had to deal with a revolving door of offensive coordinators, a problem that has yet to be solved.
If you consider how things have gone for both parties since Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers, the Browns don’t come out looking good.
Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery for a player to become his best version.
Mayfield isn’t free of blame for how things went down during his days with the Browns, but perhaps it’s more the organization’s fault.
NEXT: Kevin Stefanski Gets Honest About Quinshon Judkins' Debut
