Cleveland Browns: Carson Wentz nosedive necessitates caution with Baker Mayfield’s future

The Browns cannot afford (literally and figuratively) to make Philly’s mistake

So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t attempt to get ahead of the curve by committing to a player who hasn’t proven he deserves commitment. Mayfield is in year three and he’s nearly 26 years old. It’s time for him to stop playing like a rookie, and once he does that, he can stop being treated like one. The goal of the fifth-year option is twofold; to give the team another year to evaluate a player, and to give the team one more year of (relatively) cheap control before an extension kicks in.

The issue is that if you don’t know whether or not your QB is the guy after four seasons, he’s probably not the guy. At some point, time is going to run out for Mayfield. The Browns can’t hold on forever. That point is certainly not now, but the potential benefit of getting Mayfield cheaper in 2022 pales in comparison to the risk of overpaying a borderline average starter big money that year and siphoning the rollover cap the team has been saving for years.

Declining Mayfield’s option doesn’t mean moving on from him, either. It just means he hasn’t done enough to earn that guaranteed sum. He’ll still get 2021 to prove himself, and if he does, fantastic. The Browns can reward him with a new extension, or perhaps even franchise tag him to make sure he keeps up that level of play. If not, they’ll have saved themselves a major financial headache, and can easily move on.

Carson Wentz is what happens when a team commits too early to a quarterback. Had the Eagles simply exercised his option and waited on an extension, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in now. The Browns must not repeat this mistake.