Ex-Browns QB Baker Mayfield Sends Message on Next Move

Former Baker Mayfield, the Cleveland Browns quarterback, may have found a long-term home with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers were eliminated from the playoffs following a 23-17 loss to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round. He passed for 349 yards and three touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions, including the game-winning turnover late in the fourth quarter.

Mayfield and the Bucs exceeded expectations this season, winning the NFC South and advancing to the Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns’ former first-round choice shone, throwing for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Mayfield earned a quarterback rating of 94.6.

Mayfield will be a free agency this offseason, but he wants to return to Tampa Bay for another season.

“I love this group,” Mayfield said following the loss to the Lions. “I’ve said that all year. And it’s genuine. I mean it. It would mean a lot to me to bring back a lot of critical parts, to put this back together, to get it to Year 2 in the system, and to make great strides. I’d adore that.

“Obviously, who knows how things will turn out, but I can’t say enough about this company and the chance they provided me this year. Just thankful, and I hope everything works out.”

Mayfield signed a one-year contract with the Buccaneers this summer. It had a base value of $4 million but had some significant incentives. He received an additional $2.85 million in incentives as a result of his great play and team success.
The Bucs now face a decision on Mayfield, which the Browns had to do at one point with the previous Heisman Trophy winner. Tampa Bay may offer Mayfield a large long-term contract or place him on the franchise tag. If the Bucs go with the latter, it will cost an estimated $36.3 million for next season.

Following Sunday’s loss, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles praised Mayfield, saying he has earned the opportunity to return as QB1.

“He most definitely has,” Bowles said. “Obviously, it’s too early to discuss that, and business is business, but Baker had an incredible year. We adore him. The guys adore him. And we’ll see what the future brings.

Mayfield also received assistance from one of his top receivers, Chris Godwin.

“He fitted right in. I believe we had a lot of fighters — guys going through the same things — and I think he came in and fit the bill,” Godwin added. “I believe we all love and respect Baker. We don’t have influence over the business side of things, but we trust they can handle it.”

Following the acquisition of Deshaun Watson in 2022, the Browns traded Mayfield. The franchise was not confident that Mayfield could be their future quarterback, so they went all in to acquire Watson.

The Browns traded up a significant number of first-round draft picks and signed Watson — who was being investigated for many alleged cases of sexual misconduct — to an unprecedented $230 million fully guaranteed contract.

With Mayfield demonstrating his promise with the Bucs and Watson battling to stay on the field, the Browns’ choice to cut ties with him has been questioned.

“The Browns screwed over Baker.” “There is no other way around it,” Chris Simms told the New York Post on Friday, January 19. “He played with a damaged shoulder for a year [2021] and didn’t perform well. They used that against him before going out and attempting to locate Deshaun Watson without his knowledge. He wiped them out, and they realized, ‘Oh, we’ve offended him. We now have no quarterback. “We need to finally get Deshaun Watson.”