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Is Baker Mayfield worth an extension


soflbillsfan

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I say an emphatic yes. I think the real Baker was revealed in the second half of 2020.

I will give him a pass for his inconsistent play this year because of one reason - he is hurt. A lot worse than was first revealed to us. Seems like every week the news got a little more grim. May be it is true that he couldn't "hurt it worse", but pain is still pain and surgery is inevitable. I admire his desire to play through it, but to me - that is a glaring reason for the ups and downs of 2021. Once he has the surgery, I fully expect in 2022 a return to the 2020 form.

2018 - He busted onto the scene playing for a coach that didn't have a clue, and an offensive coordinator whose sole agenda was to stick it to the head coach so he could sit in the big chair. One Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee were removed, things improved and Baker gave us all hope.

2019 - was a clusterf**k from the word go. Freddie's "seat of his pants" offense was doomed from the start. Baker was highly frustrated in the lack of structure. And the worst part was no credible veteran backup was ever brought in to help Baker try to figure it out.

2020 - was a godsend for Baker. Kevin Stefanski arrived with an offensive system that had been proven successful at the NFL level. Stefanski hired professionally proven coaches, and brought veteran backup Case Keenum with him. To say Baker took to this scenery like a duck to water was an understatement.

2021 - I fully expected Baker continue the growth path of NFL success. But an unfortunate injury got in the way. Now everyone in the media is taking the easy way out and blaming Baker and Baker alone for his sub par play, instead of digging deeper to look at the "why" component of the question. Baker has overcome every athletic challenge ever put in front of him. So go ahead, keep telling him he "can't do it".

I am betting on Baker and rolling with 6.

Edited by brooks1957
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No reason to extend him now.

Let him play out his fifth year option. If he plays well and is consistent, extend him even if that means paying him more than you'd have to pay him now. If he doesn't take the next step, look for a new QB.

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5 minutes ago, DawgX said:

No reason to extend him now.

Let him play out his fifth year option. If he plays well and is consistent, extend him even if that means paying him more than you'd have to pay him now. If he doesn't take the next step, look for a new QB.

 

So much this. Do NOT make the same mistake that the Rams did.

5th year option, franchise tag - you have two semi-affordable years before making the inevitable mistake.

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If I was to take my "screw the Browns" hat off for a second, I think they're actually built quite well to win with a rookie QB, whereas if you extend Baker for what is eventually going to be $40M/year+, you lose a lot of that capability for a guy who has shown he is a product of the environment around him. Either the Browns want to be a run-first team, and in that case Baker is expendable, or they want to build around Baker, and in that case you need to basically see what he can do.

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I think like others have said let him play out the 5th year option and see how it goes.

 

Baker is a weird case. I think he was the right QB to bring some stability to the Browns and help them turn their franchise woes around from being in the garbage heap, but now that they have built a good team it feels like they might have outgrown him with all the talent on that roster and he’s what could ultimately hold them back if he gets a big cap hit.
 

I don’t know what you do but it is a precarious situation for the Browns with both options having a risk.

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