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Cleveland Browns: Baker backup? He isn’t having that.

By Randy Gurzi

MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 27: Baker Mayfield #6 of the North team throws the ball during the first half of the Reese's Senior Bowl against the the South team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL - JANUARY 27: Baker Mayfield #6 of the North team throws the ball during the first half of the Reese's Senior Bowl against the the South team at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield knows head coach Hue Jackson wants him to sit, but he still is going to go out and try to prove he deserves the job

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson wants us to all know that Tyrod Taylor is the starting quarterback. He wants No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to sit and learn the NFL game.

We all knew that was the plan as soon as Taylor was brought in. We didn’t know who the rookie would be, but we knew the team wanted to start a veteran.

Everyone has heard it, including Mayfield. He just doesn’t want to settle for that.

Mayfield said before the second day of rookie minicamps that he’s going to prove his worth and try to win that job — even if Jackson says it isn’t up for grabs.

"“I’m always competitive,” Mayfield said according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “It wouldn’t matter what (Jackson) was saying in regards to the competition. I’m still going to compete and try and win that job. So I’m going to listen to him, but I’ve got to go compete, and first and foremost, I’ve got to go learn my job.”"

We all knew Mayfield had that fire and didn’t want to sit. We all should also understand that Jackson’s insistence on a rookie sitting is why he has a horrendous 9-39 career record.

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Jackson is flat-out saying he doesn’t care who is better and that past mistakes should dictate his future decisions. Jackson believes because Mayfield is a rookie he won’t succeed if he starts this season. That’s not true.

This isn’t a project quarterback like DeShone Kizer who wasn’t ready. It’s not Cody Kessler who was taken in the third round. This is the first overall pick.

More rookie quarterbacks than every before are succeeding and Jackson is in some pretty bad company drafting a quarterback so early with the intentions of playing him.

In recent years just about every quarterback drafted at No. 1 or 2 has played from the start — with the exception of Jared Goff and Mitch Trubisky. Those coaches who made the decision to sit those signal callers were both unemployed the following year.

Players drafted at No. 1 should be given every chance to play. If Mayfield is the best, he should play. If Taylor is, he should play. If Jackson doesn’t care who is better and simply plays Taylor because Mayfield’s a rookie, he is doing the team a disservice.

Next: Uncertainty surrounds Duke

Let them compete, and may the best man win the job.

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