The Cleveland Browns have been searching for a franchise quarterback for nearly the entirety of their franchise history, including in 2025, as 40-year-old Joe Flacco won a four-man QB competition this offseason and has four turnovers through two games.
It seemed like Cleveland finally had its guy when it selected Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma with the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, but he was tossed aside after four years so the Browns could trade for Deshaun Watson, which has worked out as poorly as anybody could have ever imagined.
Mayfield is now leading a perennial contender with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Watson can’t stay on the field, and Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot recently provided some context on Baker’s time in Cleveland and why things didn’t work out during her recent appearance on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima.
“I think he got off to a very, very tumultuous and toxic start here. So many things went downhill. Baker, himself, he was a little bit of a trainwreck when he was here. I think he needed to be humbled. He needed to change. His marriage was on the rocks. He had family issues with his father and his father’s company. He was not in a good place, and he readily admits he needed to have his career taken down to the studs so that he could build himself back up.”
🚨 "Baker landed in Cleveland in the most dysfunctional period in Cleveland Browns history. So many things went downhill… Baker was a bit of a train wreck when he got here. "@MaryKayCabot on why Baker Mayfield and the #Browns didn't work out.
🔊: https://t.co/8IYRkGbYkL pic.twitter.com/QYvWuD5okr
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) September 18, 2025
It’s probably a bit harsh to paint Mayfield in this light as if he were Johnny Manziel, and it overshadows the fact that Mayfield set the rookie touchdown record with the Browns and led the team to a blowout playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at one point.
In his final season, he played through injury and didn’t look like himself, and Cleveland saw what it believed was the shiny new toy with Watson.
Mayfield may have needed to be humbled, but there were never issues with his work ethic, and he never had any sort of legal troubles.
This topic has come up quite a bit lately after Mayfield threw 41 TDs for the Bucs last year and has them at 2-0 after a pair of stellar late-game performances, and while some may try to paint him in a bad light, the Browns were the problem much more so than Baker was.
It has to hurt Browns fans to wonder what could have been, but everyone should be happy that Mayfield seems to have found his permanent home.
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