Why is Baker Mayfield's maturity such a topic of conversation?
Baker Mayfield has seen his name be dragged through the mud in record time. Just one year ago, he was set as the future of the Cleveland Browns at quarterback. He led the franchise to its first playoff victory in decades and was all set to sign a lucrative extension.
But for one reason or another, he entered 2021 trying to prove himself and get the best deal possible. He got injured, the team missed the playoffs, and that master plan came crashing down to Earth.
Yet things only got worse from there. The Browns went after Deshaun Watson, causing Mayfield to demand a trade. Once the Watson trade became official, the team finally decided they would honor the former No. 1 overall pick's request.
In this process, Mayfield's maturity was thrown into question. How did that come to be such a hot topic among NFL circles?
Cleveland Browns openly attacked Baker Mayfield's character
This all came about after the Browns attacked his maturity by leaking a report to ESPN saying the team wanted an "adult" at quarterback. Thus, talking heads jumped on this, and Mayfield's maturity became a hot topic of conversation while the Browns sought a trade.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says Baker Mayfield and the Browns are breaking up because the Browns want an “adult” at QB https://t.co/cXPIOKNklr
Cleveland, thus, tanked his trade value at a time when they were desperate to get him off the roster as fast as possible. ESPN's Chris Mortenson, a trusted reporter for years, was the one who shared the "adult" comment. So it's not like it was from some random reporter or news source. It came from someone who is trusted and associated with the Browns.
This is fascinating because the quarterback's maturity was questioned when he was taken No. 1 overall by the team back in 2018. But any concerns were seen as great personality traits, until the team flipped on him.
.@Realrclark25 kept it real about Baker Mayfield's recent IG post 😳
"This is not the way to communicate to your team to let them know what you want. If you want to be seen as an adult, if you want to be seen as a leader, you have to conduct yourself in certain ways." https://t.co/Q1u3D1h5N5
His own team calling out his character means other teams around the league are wondering why things went so south. That means that the question of his maturity will come up in trade discussions and will follow him around until he gets another shot to prove himself as a starter in the NFL.
That is the only way for any of this to go away. And even if he does show early success, it may take years of sustained success in a new city for the maturity discussion to finally fade into nothing.
Unfortunately, Mayfield is not the first Browns quarterback to deal with this issue. The team has shown dysfunction for decades, and the fact they were fine with his actions until they no longer wanted him around seems to say a lot about how the team operates on a short-term basis.
Also Read: NFL Rumors: Cleveland Browns unlikely to land another Texans star following Deshaun Watson trade