3 Reasons the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t extend Baker Mayfield

Reason not to extend Baker Mayfield No. 3 – The Franchise Tag

A huge reason I would hold off on extending Mayfield, there are other options to keep him around if he ends up proving himself worthy.

This option may end up costing you slightly more money than just extending him right now, but given his inconsistency, I think it is totally worth the risk.

Let Mayfield play out the rest of 2021 with all the injuries, and then give him a clean slate in 2022. Let all the drama pass but make him play on that fifth-year option of his rookie contract. Truthfully, the $18.8 million he will earn next season is all he really deserves based on his play.

Then if he plays well in 2022 you have a few options. One, you try to resign him if he finally proves himself. I would still wait until the end of the season just because we have seen too many versions of his play.

The best option would be to consider the franchise tag in 2023 should he play well in 2022. This could be a bit expensive, as you would owe him the average of the top-five player’s salaries at his position, but it gives you another year with him without committing the entire farm.

Keep in mind, if he plays anywhere close to how he did in 2021, there is no way I put the franchise tag on him. He would need to have the best year of his career in 2022 for this to even be considered.

Again, this route may cost the team some extra money should it work out, but I would rather be safe than sorry when you are talking about spending that time of money on the most important player on the team.