How Baker Mayfield ranks in Cleveland Browns history

Interceptions Thrown

We eventually had to get here and remind everyone of a pretty negative statistic. Interceptions are a part of football and if quarterbacks play long enough, they’re going to notch up some pretty high numbers here. Of all people, Brett Favre has the NFL record for most interceptions thrown, and he is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

It isn’t necessarily a terrible thing to be at the top of this list, but you have to take into context how long they’ve played in their career. With that being said, let’s take a look at the Browns top 10 leaders in interceptions thrown.

"1) Brian Sipe (1974-1983): 149 Interceptions Thrown 2) Otto Graham (1946-1955): 135 3) Frank Ryan (1962-1968): 88 4) Bernie Kosar (1985-1993): 81 4) Mike Phipps (1970-1976): 81 6) Bill Nelsen (1968-1972): 71 7) Tim Couch (1999-2003): 67 8) Derek Anderson (2006-2009): 45 9) Milt Plum (1957-1961): 39 10) Vinny Testaverde (1993-1995): 37 10) Paul McDonald (1980-1985): 37"

Noticeably not on the top 10 list here is Baker Mayfield, obviously, which ranks 12th, with 35 interceptions. Unless he has a god-like year this upcoming season, he’s probably going to find himself between 8th and 9th on this list.

While it would be extremely nice to see Mayfield be able to cut down on the number of interceptions he throws per season, it won’t be necessarily a bad thing if he finishes at the top of this list by the end of his career. That would most likely mean he spends at least another decade in Cleveland. For that type of commitment, he would have had to show the front office that he has the potential to win a Super Bowl.

If Baker ends up being the next Brett Favre, Browns fans shouldn’t be upset about that. It’s hard to project where Baker Mayfield will be in his career by the end of next season, let alone a decade from now. However, I’m among those who think he is still going to be the Browns franchise quarterback for at least another decade.

The Browns invested a first overall pick into him and would be foolish to not let Baker play out his entire rookie contract, including the fifth-year option.

After that is done, it may become an interesting decision for the front office to make on whether or not to keep him. Until then, he should have at least three more seasons to move up these lists and become one of the most prestigious quarterbacks in Cleveland Browns’ history.