Will Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. salvage their partnership for the Browns?
Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. were the focal points of the NFL trade deadline Tuesday. Beckham was one of the likeliest trade candidates in the league.
But the Cleveland Browns retained him after not finding a good enough trade offer.
The Browns will hope Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. can get on the same page and salvage the second half of the season. This season has been abysmal for Beckham, who has just 17 catches for 232 yards.
On Tuesday, LeBron James and Beckham's father let their opinions on Beckham's situation be known. What matters, however, is that Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. are teammates for the rest of the year.
Now Browns fans are asking themselves, will they finally find any chemistry in the next nine weeks?
OBJ will show again why he’s special. WR1 #FreeOBJ
Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. will improve their relationship.
Being optimistic can be difficult, considering the NFL season will be halfway over after this week. However, there are multiple factors to remember when it comes to the situation.
Beckham was recovering from a torn ACL during training camp. He wasn't able to develop chemistry with Mayfield during that time.
After missing the first two games, he's played five games with Mayfield. They haven't been able to make up for lost time yet.
Last season, Beckham missed ten games due to his torn ACL. That was the first season under Kevin Stefanski's new offense.
Mayfield had reps to find out what worked and what didn't work. All Beckham could do was watch.
Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. are talented individuals who haven't clicked as a unit yet. But if they can establish even a little chemistry with one another, the future could be brighter than the doom and gloom that's followed them this season.
Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. won't salvage their relationship if they let outside noise bother them.
That said, there remains a strong possibility the two won't get on the same page. Beckham's father took to Instagram to post a 11-minute video of the plays Mayfield has missed an open Beckham.
These kinds of distractions can be catastrophic to developing chemistry and, more importantly, trust.
The father of #Browns Odell Beckham Jr. posted an 11 minute video on Instagram today. The video showed multiple times that QB Baker Mayfield missed Odell Beckham Jr. Was also active in comments. https://t.co/oFbJl4ExA9
Mayfield and Beckham are both playing through shoulder injuries as well. This is another reason why they haven't gotten in sync.
Mayfield deserves his fair share of the blame for missing open throws. But there's still time to right the ship.
As long as they don't let the outside noise bother them too much, things can't get worse than they've been.