The drama surrounding Baker Mayfield and whether or not the Cleveland Browns will trade him remains ongoing and it doesn’t appear that the NFL franchise is in any rush to end it.
Given the fact that they’re currently on the hook to pay Mayfield almost $19 million this season, the Browns aren’t going to cut him and seem intent on waiting until another team is desperate enough to take on a chunk of that salary as part of a trade.
That hasn’t sat well with everyone, especially the folks associated with Pro Football Talk. Mike Florio previously chided the Browns for leaving Mayfield in the lurch, though he received plenty of pushback for treating a guy due $19 million like a poor victim.
Now, Chris Simms has said that he feels as though Baker is being “f*cked over” as well, comparing it to a hostage situation.
“Last but not least, what I’ll say about this situation is, I mean he’s really being f*cked over by the Cleveland Browns,” said Simms in a recent interview. “They’ve done this to him. They put him in this situation. All he did was gut it out and play hard. And then they went and did the Deshaun Watson thing … then continued to flirt with him … went and visited him … pissed off Baker Mayfield, which is crazy that they didn’t think that would piss him off … then release some things to the media about ‘We need an adult in the room’ and all that kind of stuff … and now, they’re gonna hold him hostage to where he has no team.
“At some point — it’s gonna be interesting to see where this goes — he might have to make them uncomfortable at some point. He might have to start showing up at the facility. He might have to.”
Yes, it’s not great for Mayfield to be in limbo when he could be playing for a team that wants him. But on the other hand, he’s getting paid $19 million regardless of what happens and the Browns have every right to hold into their asset until another team decides they’re willing to trade for him, which will invariably happen because of injuries or poor quarterback play. And to cut Mayfield and watch him play for a rival while they pay is salary is too stupid to consider.
There are many victims in this world but it’s not clear that Baker Mayfield is among them.
[Audacy]
