issues that continues to linger over the National Football
League and will, until it's finally, resolved is what
happens with Baker. Mayfield. Here is Miles Garrett, one of
the top defensive players on the Cleveland Browns with his
thoughts
on this still simmering yet unresolved Baker Mayfield
status in Cleveland.
People come and go. And no, this is one of those changes.
Now. Hope the best for him,
and I hope he moves on and, you know, he does well for himself.
I'll never wish alone on anyone who I
went up against are played with,
but now he's going to land on his feet. I think, bro, said
that as well with no, he's, he's played well
when he's healthy and I think, he know when he's healthy, he
can he can do some pretty good things for a team. No, he's had
to find his Niche again. I think he has to prove himself
and to get healthy
and I think it worked out for her. Voltage.
That really is at the core of all of this and it doesn't get
said enough when he's healthy. He's good. He wasn't healthy
last year. I know such an odd thing. In those interpersonal
Dynamics, behind the scenes overcame, the very simple truth
that,
if he hadn't tried to make a tackle after throwing
an interception against the Texans in week 2, it could have been
a very different year for him,
for the team for everybody and they wouldn't have DeShaun
Watson. Now, they would have signed him to a new contract.
Presumably.
If he had been healthy wire-to-wire, they would have
had no choice to fan base. Would have demanded it. And
I think at the end of the day, that's why they moved on to
the Sean Watson
because their best case scenario. Chris
for the baker Mayfield option. Year
was he plays so well, they have to give him a 40 million dollar
or more per year contract and then they run the risk that
they're on this roller coaster where he's got good year, bad.
You're good. You're bad year. They want to God's going to be
good every year if they're paying 40 million plus
and at some point they had the bright idea.
Let's just go get the Sean Watson instead, and I really do think
that the idea that, that if he did have a great 2022 and they
were backed into a corner financially, that may have
really been something that helped bring to a head.
This decision to go after DeShaun Watson, but as you've said,
they're trying to have it both ways. They are, they're trying to
they're trying to have Watson and keep Mayfield.
And at some point, you know, this guy and hey, it's a good
pitch. Maybe. Maybe the Browns in their trade talks. Just need
to play that clip from Myles Garrett. Because
somebody is going to get a pretty good quarterback
eventually someday. Yeah, we think.
Yeah, I know I well. I think, I think first off with the
the brown situation. Yeah, there was something there that they
didn't like something as far as the number. They felt like
Baker. Mayfield was going to ask for
and him not being worth that. I don't know. That seems to be
where, at least what I would think happen in this situation.
And I understand again, having the thought of, hey, when did
Sean Watson's, Playing. Yes, he's better than Baker,
Mayfield. I mean, when does John Watson is hitting on all
cylinders and playing his best? I mean, he's one of the best in
the game. There's no question.
Now, it's a year at a football will see you in the might be
two years at a football. I think honestly when it's all
said and done here, we'll see where that goes. But yeah, they
did Baker, Mayfield dirty and so is everybody else? Really
Cleveland's done. Baker Mayfield dirty.
The media has done Baker, Mayfield dirty,
like the fact that people have thrown him or cast him away as
like Noah like a low-level starter, I think it's wrong.
I think he's coming up in the Chris Simms quarterback
rankings. And when you go back and watch Baker, Mayfield and
when you watch him healthy, like you're talking about,
there's a lot of wow
factor there is. There's a lot of things to like about his
game. He is an good NFL, starting quarterback, who has
the potential to be in my opinion kind of a top-10
quarterback.
His arm. Is that special?
So yes, he's getting crushed and killed.
Old because he played tough through injury
and people hold that against him. And that's not, it's not
right? And he is a starting quarterback and it's amazing
that he's still sitting here in limbo because because of
Cleveland that's just the one thing I want to make clear
because of Cleveland
Baker, Mayfield career, and this season is in limbo, as far
as what the hell's gonna happen.
One of the most telling nuggets that emerged in that
relationship, this offseason came from Joe Thomas who yeah
poor did or said or whatever that may feel. Could have had
a contract worth 30 million
per year and he didn't want it.
And people actually,
Reacted at by saying well, you know basically what an idiot.
He didn't it. Well no. No, he no. No, it's not an idiot. He's
not a 30 million dollar a year guy. No, coming off a 2020. We
forget about that though.
We have such short memories when it comes to how good or
not good. A player may be that we just forgot all about
the stretch, run of 2020,
the fact that they took the Chiefs to the limit in the 2020
postseason the division or the 2021 open.
The 2021 opener and to exactly, I mean they had the day of
the chiefs of the ropes and the first half it was like, oh no
and one more score here and they're going to they're going
to dominate the Jeeps and win the game
and you know week to
it wasn't much different mic to your point. He looked good. He
made a lot of ton of plays. Yes, he made the mistake that
you have talked about a lot and you you're probably right and
quarterbacks not doing it
and he hurt his shoulder
and even with the hurt shoulder,
still continued to play good for a little
Bit. But then other things started to pile on top of that,
he re-injures the shoulder, there started to be a few other
injuries and banged up. I believe his ribs were a little
hurt at one point so
that all kind of came together and cause some issues
but man, I will say doing my quarterback rankings going back
and watching this guy there's a lot of like, whoa high level.
Wow throws that the guy makes. Is he a little bit of
a gunslinger do some
dumb things that I'm sure
he does. He's not perfect but man,
he's a Making quarterback and there's not a lot of those in
the NFL.
I'm always fascinated by guys who can Master the hard parts
of their job but trip over the easy parts of and I say that
because I've made my entire career in whatever field, I've
been in
busting my ass to do the easy parts of the job and make
people not notice that I don't know how to do the hard parts
of the job. So when you see a baker Mayfield or a Carson
Wentz,
guys, who have high end ability
But stumble over their own two feet unforced, whether it's
making a tackle. When you should not be making the tackle
or not being able to get along with your teammates to
the point where yeah, they have a good feeling about you right
between whence and Mayfield. They both have the talent. It's
just other aspects of the
job, the easy aspects of the job. The aspects of the job.
They should be able to figure out that they don't.
And I think there's a lot of you know what I hadn't thought
about it before right now, there's a lot of similarities
between those two guys. That way they
are capable of being a great quarterbacks
because they can do the hard parts of the job,
but they can't figure out how to take care of the easy parts,
or at least the parts. That should be easy. Yeah, I hear
you there and it's a little different. It's the same
scenario. I hear you there.
I think it's a little different in that
like you hear a Carson Wentz, seems to not have much of
a relationship with anybody. In the locker room, Baker Mayfield
seems to be
like social and try to be
Be one of the guys. Now,
I don't know. Sometimes it sounds like maybe say anything
to me. Doesn't lie. Exactly. It might be the ego might get
an away a little bit here that we're his with his case
a little bit,
you know, or narcissism or whatever you want to say there.
I don't really know that maybe rubs guys, the wrong way, but
I think that gets back to the point of, you know, at some
point. Yes. Cleveland between some of those things right
there,
you know, who knows? Some of the other issues they've had to
deal with behind the scenes, the price tag of maybe what?
Asking for
is why they didn't want to give him that big price tag or give
them that big money, because of the things you're talking about
were talking about you put that all together. They just might
have been there.
Well, let's try to find another option and and so be it if
that's so. But yeah, there's something there that he's got
a correct, a little bit for sure.
It can't just be ego and narcissism. I mean
look around the league. It's it kind of goes with the territory
of being a high-end starting quarterback in the NFL. The
even has a right to touch. There's a Right Touch.
You know, there's there's becomes a point where,
you know, the really good quarterback sometimes can go
my fault. That was my fault. Even though they know it's
the receivers fault. Like they can go my fault. You know, I didn't
throw a good spiral though, it hit you in the face, but
I didn't throw a good spot to help all the catch. Where
I think some of the other ones can be like, it's never my
fault. And
when I made the wrong decision, no, I didn't. I that was
the right decision coach. And I think that's the difference
sometimes between, you know, the levels of ego and
narcissism.
I should have explained a little bit better there. Mike.
Thanks for pointing that. You're right. Yeah, there's
a point where you have to flip that switch. Just a little bit,
right? That Ultra competitiveness. We've talked
about that before,
when it's an eight-year-old kid that has to win at everything
we say, Jimmy. Why are you being such a little jerk? When
it's a grown man who has to win at everything. We had my Mo.
He's competitive. He has to win at everything. Well, there's
a point where the competitive Drive needs to take a backseat
to, you know, personal with your teammate. Exactly. Getting
along with your
coaches, right? Not being an ass to the media. Gratuitous.
That's how you leave some players. You'll walk off
the field like Leo, like like somebody just stole your car
and you don't go talk to the media that day because you got
booed
during a game that you won. Yeah, but you should have one
more easily because it was the lions that you were applying.
So that it's not, it's not again. It's not a hard, but if
it's baked into who the guy is,
then maybe it is harder than
than we think.