The Cleveland Browns quarterback situation is more unsettling than any team in the league due to Deshaun Watson and his re-torn Achilles having a $73 million cap hit over each of the next two years.
The team started four different quarterbacks this season after starting five last year and has led the league with 40 different starting QBs since 1999.
However, Mike Francesa recently said that one of those 40 should have stuck around much longer.
In a recent episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast, Francesa was asked if the Browns made a mistake in letting Baker Mayfield go.
“Yes. Absolutely. Baker Mayfield can play. He plays with a verve and an excitement and a bravado that you like and the players around him like. He makes the game fun,” Francesa said.
Did the Browns make a mistake with Baker Mayfield? pic.twitter.com/A2Cis9q7wO
— The Mike Francesa Podcast (@FrancesaPodcast) January 11, 2025
The Browns traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers in 2022 for a conditional draft pick following a down year in 2021 due to injury.
Mayfield played 14 games in 2021 and fought through injury to put up 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions after leading the team to the playoffs and blowing out the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020.
The team cut ties after just four years with the former No. 1 overall pick.
After eventually landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year deal in 2023, Mayfield put up a career year, parlayed it into a 3-year, $100 million contract, and followed it up with a dominant 4,500-yard, 41-touchdown season this year to lead the Bucs to the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The Browns have watched longingly while the man they chose instead of him is dealing with a recently re-torn Achilles that will put his 2025 season (and entire career) in serious jeopardy.
NEXT: Dan Orlovsky Says Browns Should Consider Trading Star Player
