Baker Mayfield at 2021 Cleveland Browns Minicamp/Rob Lorenzo ESPN Cleveland
*Editor's note: Danny Cunningham is a Cleveland Browns writer for
TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland*
The Cleveland Browns have a chance to make a choice on a second contract for their starting quarterback for the first time since the team returned to the field in 1999. We already know that the fifth-year option for Baker Mayfield has been picked up, and it certainly seems like an extension is going to follow this summer.
We’ve already detailed why it’s a good idea for the Browns to ink Mayfield before they play another game with him under center, but that doesn’t mean it’s that cut and dry. There could be downsides to rushing get this done.RELATED: The case to extend Baker Mayfield before he plays another game for the Browns
Across the NFL, there have been teams that have rushed to take care of their franchise quarterback – or the guy they thought was the franchise quarterback – only to move on from him later with a cap situation in a far worse position. Carson Wentz is a prime example with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Jared Goff with the Los Angeles Rams is another one.
While Wentz’s struggles can certainly be traced back to his back injury in 2017, it doesn’t change the fact that the play that earned the extension and the play that followed the extension were vastly different. Things became untenable for both sides, and the Eagles had no choice but to move on from the guy they once thought was going to lead the franchise for the next decade.
In the case of Goff, he was successful enough that the Rams made their way to the Super Bowl with him at the helm. Goff was named to the Pro Bowl twice, and it looked as if he and Sean McVay were going to be the next big thing for years to come out west. The Rams were going to be an unstoppable offensive juggernaut. That was, until Goff regressed and McVay lost confidence in him, and the relationship reached a point of no return.
This isn’t to say that Mayfield is either of these guys, the Browns sure hope that he’s not, and there are few reasons to think he could possibly be, but the risk still does exist.
Mayfield’s track record as a pro certainly has been up and down. He was terrific as a rookie before regressing badly in his second year, and then greatly improving as the year went on in his third season.
Most think that Mayfield is much closer to the guy he was at the end last season than the bad version the Browns have seen, but before committing to him with massive contract, does it really hurt to just make sure this year?
The extension coming this offseason is the more likely option, but if it doesn’t happen, that doesn’t mean it was the wrong decision. The Browns wanting to see one more year of Mayfield being very good to great would give the team all the assurance in the world that he’s the guy, and ultimately put more money in Mayfield’s pocket, too.
