5 Bold predictions for the Cleveland Browns after Beckham Jr. released
By John Suchan
The Cleveland Browns released Odell Beckham Jr. on Friday and now the team is free of their diva wide receiver and ready to roll again
What a relief. That’s where my mindset is after the Cleveland Browns announced that they had released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the team. He will now join another team as he’s entered the waiver wire so stay tuned.
In the meantime, I’m relieved because the heartache and headaches that came from having Beckham on your team far outweighed whatever competitive edge you might have thought the Browns had with him on the squad. Beckham was simply a detriment to this team’s growth.
The problems that OBJ and Baker Mayfield experienced on the field were excruciating to watch. They never clicked. They could never get on the same page. Who’s fault was it? Probably both, but the eye test from a year ago and the current season have certainly shown that Mayfield did worse with Beckham on the field.
With that, let’s dive into some rather bold predictions for the Browns now that they’ve been freed from Beckham.
Cleveland Browns prediction No. 5: Baker Mayfield will have an MVP season the rest of the way
How dramatic was it to watch the game last year when the Browns played the Cincinnati Bengals? Beckham goes down with an injury and Mayfield decides to roll off 21 straight completions and helps beat the Bengals with a perfect throw to wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in the closing seconds. That was just one example of where Mayfield played amazing football and helped the team reach the playoffs.
Now that Beckham is gone, I believe the field will open up for Mayfield like the parting of the Red Sea. Passing to players or targets will be deadly accurate and Mayfield will play with a renewed sense of urgency and confidence.
The Browns quarterback only has six touchdown throws this season. He had five in the one game last year against these same Bengals. Does he throw for five or six touchdowns in this one? Both the Browns and Bengals have been known to have some high-scoring affairs.
No longer can the absence of Beckham be used as an excuse for Mayfield’s current mediocre play. Do I think he’ll throw 21 straight caught passes again this season? Maybe, but what is more important to him, is that the Browns win the game and he plays better. I certainly believe this will happen now.