5 Cleveland Browns players with the most at stake in 2021

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Jan 17, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half in an AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /

1. QB Baker Mayfield

As mentioned earlier, Cleveland’s starting quarterback Baker Mayfield was not good for the first 25 quarters of 2020. After his disappointing 2019 campaign, there were certainly reasons for concern about his future.

But he grew more comfortable in the system, and from Week 13 on, he was one of the league’s best passers. Is that the player he will consistently be moving forward? Perhaps, perhaps not. If it isn’t, he’ll probably still be extended on a pricey deal, assuming his floor is the type of performance he put up from Weeks 7 through 11.

But if the true Mayfield is the one we saw at the end of the season, the Browns will have a very expensive contract to hand out. It likely won’t be Patrick Mahomes-level of $500 million over a decade, but it could easily be more than the $160 million over four years that Dak Prescott just got.

Mayfield is officially good. If he can be consistently great, he could easily be the second-richest player in the league. That’s a problem the team will have to maneuver around, but it’s a good problem.

Next. 5 Players Browns will miss the most in 2021. dark

Complaining about having to pay an elite quarterback isn’t something that will be happening in Cleveland, that’s for sure.