Baker Mayfield more lame duck than ever as Browns meet Deshaun Watson

Baker Mayfield was entering the final year of his contract with the Cleveland Browns as a lame-duck quarterback.

His expiring contract and the team’s unwillingness to offer a contract extension brought the 2018 No. 1 overall pick to this point–but now, the level of Mayfield’s lame-duck status has hit a fever pitch.

The news of the Browns meeting with Deshaun Watson broke overnight, as the Clemson product is giving Cleveland a chance to make their pitch as to why the organization is the best fit for the former first round pick. The meeting is expected to take place  on the same day as Watson is to be deposed over 22 civil lawsuits stemming from inappropriate behavior in sessions.

Watson has a no-trade clause, and KOA’s Ben Allbright tweeted that the Watson to Cleveland rumors were never alive because the quarterback doesn’t want to play in a cold-weather city.

With other quarterbacks going off the board (Aaron Rodgers, Russ Wilson) before free agency, Watson is really the last serious option to upgrade the position.

As Mayfield recovers from shoulder surgery in his home state of Texas, you wonder how the former Heisman winner is handling the prospect of losing his job, just 14 months after leading the Browns to their first playoff victory since January of 1995.

Baker Mayfield knows Browns trying to replace him with Deshaun Watson

This isn’t the rumor mill churning out gossip. The Browns are taking steps to potentially replace their current quarterback. It may not happen, as there are other suitors and there’s that aforementioned no-trade clause, but now, it just seems like a matter of time before Mayfield departs Cleveland.

Right now, Mayfield is still the favorite to start the season, but just imagine how the season will play out if Baker opens the season as the starter and goes on top struggle. With every incompletion, every interception, we’ll be looking for mocks to see who might be Cleveland’s next great hope.

He could always ball out, but you could understand now if Baker might want to test free agency if he rebounds from his injury riddled 2021 campaign. The Browns do have protection against this, via the franchise tag.

For now, anyway, Mayfield’s left to quarterback a team until the team finds someone better.