When it comes to Baker Mayfield, Cleveland fans are split down the middle

Baker Mayfield is surely a polarizing figure and it appears that Cleveland Browns fans are split down the middle on what his future should be

Not since their return to the NFL in 1999 have the Cleveland Browns had a quarterback who has had the success that Baker Mayfield has had in his four seasons. However, that success has not been consistent, evidenced by their third losing season with him as the starter in 2021.

Still, there are plenty of fans who saw him lead the team to their 11-win mark the prior year —‚and a playoff victory over the Steelers — and believe he is 100 percent the guy going forward. But it appears there are just as many that are on the other side of the fence.

That’s the conclusion Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com came to when he had a series of polls go out called ‘The Mayfield Matrix‘.

Lesmerises’ first poll asked if the Browns should go all-in on No. 6 this coming season and included a 1-10 ranking on how strongly fans felt this was the way to go. The final score was nearly in the middle at 5.2 — but he added that there were some wild swings.

"“The most popular rating for that option was a 1 — 22 percent picked that, hating the idea of going with only Mayfield. The second-most popular rating was a 10 — 15 percent loved the idea of making Mayfield the clear QB for one more season.” — Lesmerises"

His last poll asked if they should trade Mayfield and go with a veteran option, and this scored a 4.8 — again, right near the middle.

Baker Mayfield, the polarizing QB

In the end, none of this really means much — it’s just a way to gauge how fans feel about their quarterback. As of now, head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry are each saying they believe in Mayfield and he will be the starter in 2022.

While those are the only opinions that matter in this debate, the poll from Lesmerises shows that fans are still split on Mayfield. Of course, we may not have even needed a poll to tell us this.

A simple scroll through social media would show that the debate is still ongoing among fans — and it gets far too heated at times.

For Mayfield, 2022 is a huge season. He enters the final year of his rookie contract and he will not only be trying to earn an extension but also looking to prove the fans who don’t believe wrong.