Why did Cleveland Browns stick with Baker Mayfield over Odell Beckham Jr?

The Cleveland Browns were in the midst of a total disaster midway through the 2021 NFL season. The trade deadline was approaching and Odell Beckham Jr.'s father suddenly shared a video of all the times Baker Mayfield missed passes to his son.

This set off a firestorm and the final result was Beckham being released. But he signed up with the Los Angeles Rams and won a Super Bowl. His success out west further pointed a negative light upon Mayfield and the Browns.

There are now rumblings that Beckham could return to Cleveland in free agency, now that Deshaun Watson is lining up under center. But that begs the question of why the team ended up sticking with Mayfield in the first place during the 2021 season.

A source tells @RealSkipBayless: The Browns locker room is very close to turning on Baker Mayfield because of Odell Beckham Jr.

Skip explains https://t.co/X31GKvV115

Cleveland Browns were stuck in an awkward position

The Browns were 5-4 right after the trade deadline, which was good enough to be in the playoff picture. Mayfield was clearly playing injured, but sticking with him after the deadline meant it was either him or Case Keenum at quarterback.

The fact that the team never went to Keenum when Mayfield had his injury was very telling of how the team viewed the veteran backup.

Swapping out a receiver is much different than swapping out a quarterback during a season. So Cleveland Browns were essentially forced to stick with Mayfield over Beckham in this scenario.

Losing the signal-caller at that stage of the season would have amounted to derailing any hopes of contention after a full year of preparation with him running the offense.

Hindsight does offer up an interesting scenario, as it seems the front office was looking into Deshaun Watson during the 2021 season. Yet there were still major legal questions surrounding him at that point, so it was more exploratory than anything else.

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There was, possibly, still hope in the organization that Mayfield could rebound and lead the team into postseason. That, of course, did not happen, and he is being moved on from this year.

Beckham's father sharing the infamous video forced the team's hand. But him returning makes sense because the organization kicked Mayfield to the curb this offseason. So it would seem that they agree with the Beckham family's take on the matter after all.

Mayfield was supposed to be the franchise's quarterback. Even if the team saw him going in the wrong direction, moving on from him during the season would have been a disaster.

Thus, Beckham was freed to go win a Super Bowl. He could now end up back in Cleveland trying to do the same with Watson throwing him the ball in 2022.

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