Baker Mayfield is the single best quarterback the Browns have had since the rebirth, full stop. With that said — and while still vehemently disagreeing with the decision to replace him with Deshaun Watson — there were some legitimate warts to Mayfield's game, or better said, his approach to the game. The claim that Cleveland wanted "an adult at the [quarterback] position" is cartoonish on its face, to be sure, but has Mayfield done anything to disprove that notion?
After coming to Cleveland amid considerable hoopla, Baker Mayfield seemed well on his way to getting a statue built outside of the Browns' stadium in early 2021. He led the Browns to their first playoff victory since 1994, against the detested rival Steelers no less, before losing a heartbreaker to the eventual AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. Everything seemed to be on the up-and-up.
In the 2021 season, the Browns couldn't capitalize. They limped to an 8–9 record as Mayfield played through injury for most of a season that was marred by drama stirred by the consummate diva, Odell Beckham Jr. It appears Mayfield's personality was a spitting image of the way he played the game — feisty and with loads of abrasiveness. It was seemingly beginning to take a toll on his coaches and his teammates.
Years later, Baker Mayfield is still struggling to see the bigger picture in Tampa Bay
There was little doubt about Mayfield's ability as a passer and occasional runner, though, and he's dazzled at times with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nonetheless, the 27–24 record the Bucs have under his tutelage may be for precisely the same reasons he upset some folks in Cleveland. On the field, Mayfield plays like the game is on the line every single snap. It seems virtuous on the surface, but the reality is that kind of mindset has an alarming likelihood of sending a player one way: to the injury tent.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles met with reporters recently and talked up his quarterback, while tactfully suggesting that he recognize the need to protect himself.
"The thing that will get us to the Super Bowl with him … is not turning the ball over and sometimes checking it down and understanding when he gets out of the pocket — he makes some great scrambles — but understanding how to get down and putting himself out of harm’s way. He’s not going to miss any games, but he can take a little bit better care of himself in certain situations. I understand when he’s a yard and a half or 2 from a first down, but not when it’s 10 yards or 8 yards from the first down when he can get up and live another day. Unless it’s fourth and 10 in Houston and the game is on the line, and I understand why he’s doing those types of things. But if we can take care of that, we’ll be fine."
Mayfield showed mind-numbing obtuseness when he was approached on the subject a few days later, going as far as cutting off the question halfway through, before saying:
"I’ve started every single game last year — for the three years. So I don’t know if that should ever be a question."
That's like saying you're not leaving the burning building because you haven't been burned yet. Mayfield appears to be deliberately missing the point at this rate. While his warrior mentality has gotten him very far, for him to finish the job, he's going to need to recognize his own value to the team and be able to live to fight another day.
If, as a quarterback, you're still playing in games at 50, 60, or 70-percent capacity due to injury, you're actively hurting your team. Instead of thinking of trucking someone on 3rd-and-7 in the first quarter in Week 1, consider being healthy enough to play at full strength in Week 15 when playoff seeding is on the line in a crucial division matchup. The line between tough and reckless is razor-thin, though Mayfield takes it to the extreme.
It was Mayfield who couldn't see that his diminished state in 2021 was hurting the Browns. In 2025, the Buccaneers finished with an identical 8–9 record to those '21 Browns, with a gimpy Mayfield trying to gut his way through games late in the season. The results speak for themselves.
In the NFL, some players don't even get a second chance to learn a lesson. Mayfield's had two strikes so far, and if his refusal to protect himself shows itself on the field again in 2026, it could wind up being that costly third strike.
At that point, the Buccaneers may have found out what the Browns realized long ago — there's none so blind as those who will not see.
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