"It was their first playoff win in 26 years" - Skip Bayless defends Baker Mayfield's career with the Browns
Quarterback Baker Mayfield has made headlines this off-season, as he pushes for a move away from the Cleveland Browns.
Speculation over the quarterback's future arose when the Browns acquired Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and signed him to a five-year extension, making him their new franchise quarterback.
Skip Bayless defended Baker Mayfield on Undisputed and talked about the success he had as the Browns quarterback. Bayless mentioned how Mayfield led the Browns to their first playoff victory in the last 26 years. On that occasion, they beat the New England Patriots 20-13 in 1995. Bayless also believes Odell Beckham Jr. could have done more. Here's what he said:
"Odell suffered through three different surgeries while he was a Cleveland Brown. He was hard on Baker because he dropped a lot of balls. And then, when Odell went down at Cincinnati, Baker Mayfield really took off and he won 8 out of the next 11 games, including a playoff game against your archrival on the road in Pittsburgh. It was the first playoff win in 26 years as a franchise and in that game, Baker Mayfield had a QBR of 91. On a scale of zero to 100, it was a sensational game of 91. Over those 11 games. Baker Mayfield threw 20 touchdowns to only three picks."
The Cleveland Browns defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wildcard round in 2020 season
As Bayless said, Mayfield helped lead the Browns to their first playoff victory in the last 26 years. The Browns faced their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the first-round of the 2020 playoffs and defeated them 48-37.
In that game, Mayfield went 21 of 34 for 263 yards and threw for three touchdowns. Mayfield went 11-5 during the regular season that year while throwing for 3,563 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.
As we approach draft day, there are rumors that Mayfield could be moved before or during the draft. It now seems more likely that a move won't be made until after the draft if a move is made at all. If Cleveland are unable to find a trade partner for Mayfield, they could potentially release him, making him free to sign with any team.
If Mayfield is released, he should be able to get picked up quickly by any team, as they wouldn't have to give up any value for him or take on his current salary cap hit of $18.8 million.
In his time at Cleveland, Mayfield has thrown for 1425 yards, 92 touchdowns and 56 interceptions.