How much stock should we put in these reports that if the Browns were to cut Baker Mayfield, the Steelers would snatch him up almost immediately?
I don’t know. But what I do know is that we’ve now had a very credible reporter locally in Cleveland (Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com) and a national reporter for a national network (Jeff Darlington of ESPN) say this.
So of course, for entertainment's sake, we entertain the idea. Let’s just say it happens. The Browns try to trade him, no one bites, and they don’t want a despondent and angry Mayfield around their facility, so they eat the $18 million to release him.
Would you want the Steelers to bring him in? I would support it if they did. Here’s why.
First, let’s talk about the money. Again, he’s getting paid at least $18 million this season regardless of where he goes. So he won’t be in a position to hunt money if he’s released. By that point, the trade market will have already dictated that he’s not worth trading for, which means he probably won’t be worth beaucoup (did you know that’s how you spell that word? I had to look it up) bucks to bring in. He may even sign of league minimum at the end of the day. Regardless, Baker Mayfield isn’t going to break the bank, at least not yours, if you bring him in.
Secondly, I’ve got to believe there would be a strong desire from Mayfield to come to Pittsburgh.
Why? Because of Cleveland, of course. Baker is angry. He feels slighted. He clearly showed that in a recent interview on the YNK podcast.
And you know what? He should feel that way! This is a guy who took the Cleveland Browns, one of the sorriest franchises in professional sports, to the playoffs and led them to a win in their rival’s home stadium.
That’s no small feat. Yet, they done nothing but celebrate moving past him even while he’s still on the roster.
What’s the best way to get back at the organization who stabbed you in the back? Play for the rival. Not only play for the rival, but try to play well for the rival, try to thrive, start and win games for the rival. That would be the opportunity before him with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The chip on the shoulder would be massive.
In that podcast clip, Baker almost makes a good point about what he dealt with in Cleveland. In his rookie year of 2018, Hue Jackson got fired midway through the season. Then, they made the disaster hire of Freddie Kitchens in 2019 who was somehow worse than the previous coach in Jackson who went 3-36-1. In 2020 Kevin Stefanski came in and he’s at least shown he’s a competent NFL head coach. Baker thrived, the Browns won and got into the playoffs. Last season, he was hurt virtually the entire season and gutted through it. His toughness might just be the most admirable part of his game.
He also had 3 different offensive coordinators during that time. Instability everywhere. The Steelers would inherently provide more under the leadership of Mike Tomlin, they always have. We know they value that stability and standard being set.
Lastly, its about the Steelers current QB room as well. I don’t trust that either one of Mitch Trubisky or Mason Rudolph will suddenly figure it all out this year. It’s possible, but it’s more of a hope than a plan. Right now, neither one of them are clearly better than Baker.
I also don’t think this current QB draft class has any surefire 1st round talents. Almost every draft analyst agrees that there may not be the next “face of a franchise” in this crop.
So, while the Steelers are essentially holding auditions at the position this year, why not add Baker Mayfield into the mix? We’ve seen that when he’s healthy, when he’s asked to manage the offense and not do too much, when he’s got weapons around him, he can win.
I know what you might be thinking…but what about his attitude? I really do think he just wants to win games and be part of a winning team. That's his top priority. I also think going through a situation like he has in Cleveland will do a lot to humble him and refocus him. He’s out to prove himself again.
As long as the Steelers make it clear that he’s in a competition and won’t be handed the starting job…he comes in about as cheaply as you can get and signs on a 1-year, maybe 2-year deal…why not bring him to Pittsburgh in 2022? Maybe an extra motivated, finally-free-of-organizational-nonsense and yeah, fueled-by-some-anger version of Baker Mayfield is who winds up playing the quarterback position the best for the Steelers next season.
I am going to miss those "At Home with Baker Mayfield" commercials...
Welcome to the Great Steelers QB Experiment of 2022!