On Monday, the Cleveland Browns gave new life to the Deshaun Watson era in Cleveland, naming him the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season. The move was met with immediate criticism, because Watson’s time with the Browns has been nothing but a disaster, but Cleveland is committed to the nightmare.
Since the Watson era has been such a long, disappointing saga for the Browns, it’s easy to forget that Cleveland’s Watson journey started with the franchise first giving up on Baker Mayfield. Someone who definitely remembers that detail is Mayfield himself.
The veteran quarterback, who’s now leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, frequently lets his spite do the talking. This offseason has been no different, as Mayfield has already come out publicly to say he’s looking forward to facing his former coach Kevin Stefanski, who’s now leading the Atlanta Falcons, and also that he has the game against the Browns circled.
With Watson set to start the year as QB1, Cleveland is presenting Mayfield with a gift-wrapped opportunity to embarrass the franchise.
Browns’ Week 2 meeting against Baker Mayfield could have huge implications
Cleveland selected Mayfield first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and while his time with the Browns ended on bad terms, he helped the Browns end a playoff drought, and led them to a Wild Card win in 2020. Still, one year later, Cleveland decided it was done with Mayfield, and opted to pursue Watson instead.
There’s no telling how things would’ve unfolded if the franchise stuck with Mayfield, but it’s hard to imagine a worse outcome than what happened with Watson. Since arriving in Cleveland in 2022, Watson has appeared in just 19 games, compiling a 9-10 record. Between injuries and poor play, the massive trade for Watson sent the Browns back to the basement of the NFL, and kept them there.
Mayfield, on the other hand, spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in 2022, before finding a home in Tampa Bay. In the last three years with the Buccaneers, Mayfield has made two Pro Bowls, and led his team to two division championships. Now, he’ll have the opportunity to do one of the things he wants to do most: embarrass the Browns.
The Bucs quarterback will be facing off against the team that gave up on him, and likely against his failed replacement. Obviously it would mean a lot to Mayfield to win, but a loss for the Browns would have huge implications for Cleveland.
The franchise would be staring all its bad decisions over the last five years in the face, and it would be forced to make a massive decision ahead of its Week 3 home opener. If the Browns think fans have already been unforgiving, they don’t want to see the Dawg Pound fresh off a Deshaun Watson-led team losing to Baker Mayfield.
Of course, winning is one simple way to avoid that outcome, but Baker Mayfield will do everything in his power to make sure Cleveland faces that uncomfortable situation.
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