The Browns had no choice but to excuse Baker Mayfield from OTAs
The Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield have been playing a game of chicken with each other over the past few months. The franchise has not yet released him or found a trade partner and the quarterback has expressed no interest in being with them in any capacity.
But something had to be decided this week as mandatory minicamps are underway around the NFL. Mayfield is still under contract with the team and missing mandatory practice could lead to fines in the tens of thousands.
Ultimately, the Browns made the wise move by just telling Mayfield to stay home. He won't be fined, and the team can continue to figure out what to do with him as the season approaches. This was the right move for a variety of reasons.
Baker Mayfield would have been a massive distraction for a team with too many at the moment
The Browns are in an unimaginably bad spot at the moment because of Deshaun Watson. He was signed to a fully-guaranteed $230 million deal, and cost a lot of draft capital which was sent the Houston Texans' way.
There is currently no guarantee he will play at all this year as the lawsuits against him continue to grow.
The worst thing the Browns could do for their own future would be to have Mayfield show up and work with the offense during OTAs. If he performs well, it only has the potential to cause a rift among the entire team as to what to do if Watson is suspended.
Jacoby Brissett is the top backup at the moment and will presumably play if Watson gets suspended. Throwing the former number-one pick into the mix after this offseason filled with drama would only create more at a time when any sort of stability is needed.
So what is the best option? A release is the easiest option here, even if it means the team eats nearly $19 million. A trade is also still likely at some point before the season, even if it seems impossible at the moment. That is because teams may deal with injuries, or severely bad performances, that require an adjustment before Week 1.
For example, the Seattle Seahawks may come to see that the competition between Drew Lock and Geno Smith is going nowhere. Adding someone like Mayfield in an attempt to salvage the season makes sense. The same is true for a team like the Carolina Panthers. The Houston Texans may also fall into that category, but a trade between them and the Browns is unlikely given the Watson situation.
Mayfield even showing up at minicamp would have dominated the headlines and led to even more distractions. Both sides are taking a smart approach here and just accepting that a split is the best decision.
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