Why Cleveland Browns should not give Baker Mayfield a big extension

The Cleveland Browns should wait on signing Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield for a stretch looked to be the savior of the Cleveland Browns organization. Following his explosion onto the scene in his rookie year after an injury to Tyrod Taylor put Mayfield in the starting spot, he took the league by storm. Along with this, he gave hope to Browns fans that the decades-long quarterback drought was finally over.

It’s this hope and the potential that Mayfield showed in his rookie season that led the team to make huge investments in giving him elite weapons at every skill position on the offensive side of the ball.

The Browns front office drafted Nick Chubb in the second round of the 2018 draft after selecting Mayfield, traded for Jarvis Landry, traded for Odell Beckham Jr., signed Kareem Hunt, and gave a massive contract to Austin Hooper.

Despite all of the weapons the Browns have assembled around Mayfield, Cleveland is near the bottom of the league in almost every passing statistic. The Browns rank 29th in passes attempted, 32nd in completions, 28th in completion percentage, and 31st in passing yards. Lastly, Mayfield’s bad pass percentage has gone up while his on-target passing percentage has gone down.

In defense of Mayfield, his dip in numbers is due to a new offensive system that is heavily run-oriented. Despite not being able to throw the ball as much as he would probably hope, he is making the most of his opportunities. The Browns rank 14th in passing touchdowns and 18th in interceptions.

Along with this, he is having a much improved passing season than last year. In the 2019-2020 season, Mayfield threw for an abysmal 21 interceptions compared to his 22 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Reference, this left him with a 4.1 touchdown percentage and a 3.9 interception percentage. Compared to this season, in which Mayfield has thrown for 15 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions through 9 games — leaving him with a 6.2 touchdown percentage and a 2.9 interception percentage according to Pro Football Reference.

Mayfield becomes a free agent in the 2022 offseason, however, it is likely that Cleveland will want to negotiate an extension with him as soon as possible. This raises the question of how much is too much money for Mayfield and is he even worth resigning.

As previously stated, the Browns offense is being carried by the duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Cleveland rarely looks to the passing game despite having big name receivers like Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. on the roster.

As a result of this, it financially would make more sense for the Browns to look into drafting a quarterback who will not need an extension for 3-5 more years rather than bringing out the Brinks truck for a player they are still unsure of.

In an article on Dawg Pound Daily, Sam Penix goes over five options who the Browns could draft to sit behind Mayfield or become his eventual successor. This could light a fire under Baker and push him to the level of being a true franchise quarterback and earn the money he will likely be asking for, or the Browns will have another option who will already be familiar with the system.

With players like Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and Denzel Ward needing to be resigned or have their contracts extended, making Baker even one of the top 10 paid quarterbacks in the league might be too much for the level he has been playing at.