Cleveland Browns: Tyrod Taylor will have pressure to succeed immediately

Tyrod Taylor was brought in by the Cleveland Browns to bring stability to the quarterback position in 2018. But he will have to do more than that to keep the starting quarterback job.

The Cleveland Browns traded a third round pick for Tyrod Taylor to be a bridge quarterback for Baker Mayfield. By planning on not having Mayfield play in 2018, it will help him adjust to being a NFL quarterback and help his development.

Browns general manager John Dorsey and head coach Hue Jackson keep reiterating that is the plan for the 2018 season – Taylor will be the starter and there will not be a competition.

But even with the reassurances from management and coaches, there will be a lot pressure on Taylor succeeding as the quarterback. He has the weapons around him to have a solid offensive unit, so any game where the offense struggles will not look good for Taylor.

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If Taylor and the offense struggle early in the season, it will create the whirlwind of people wanting Mayfield to take over as the starting quarterback. Mayfield has a cult-like following and people are going to want to see him play sooner rather than later.

Mayfield was arguably the most NFL-ready quarterback in this year’s draft. Him being the first overall pick created the expectations that he needs to play in 2018 and not wait until 2019. To some fans, Taylor is viewed as an expendable player since Mayfield appears ready to play. Fans will be very willing to throw Taylor to the side if it means they get to see Mayfield step on the field.

But it may not only be the fans that want Mayfield under center if Taylor struggles early in the season. If Taylor is not successful early in the season, Jackson may be forced to put Mayfield into games and start him the rest of the season.

Jackson has no room for error has the head coach of the Browns. After going 1-31 in his first two seasons as Browns head coach, he has no job security. A lot of people expected him to be fired after going winless in 2017.

If the Browns continue their winless streak for the first few weeks of the season, Jackson may feel compelled to start Mayfield to save his job. If he starts Mayfield and the Browns win with him under center, it could potentially save Jackson his job.

Taylor could prevent all of that from happening if he wins a game or two early in the season. If Taylor shows that he is capable of winning games for the Browns and breaks the winless at the beginning of the season, Browns fans will be excited to have him under center.

After seeing only one win in two seasons, Browns fans just want to see the quarterback win games. He does not have to put up video game numbers for the fans to want to keep him under center.

And if Taylor starts the first half of the season with three of four wins, it would be unlikely the Browns fire Jackson mid-season. Knowing that he will have the full season as head coach, Jackson will not be compelled to make any crazy moves to potentially save his job.

And it must be stated that Taylor is playing for a big contract at the end of the season. Next offseason will be the first time Taylor enters free agency with multiple seasons of experience as a starting quarterback. If he plays well in Cleveland, he could play himself into a big contract during next year’s free agency.

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But if he wants to potentially make the big bucks at the end of the season, it starts with him winning games early in the season for the Browns to avoid being benched.

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