The Cleveland Browns would be wise to excuse Baker Mayfield from mandatory minicamp

Baker Mayfield should be excused from the Cleveland Browns’ mandatory minicamp

Jimmy Garoppolo seems to be officially done in San Francisco, as the 49ers have excused him from their team’s mandatory minicamp. A smart move if they intend on trading him before the season, and one that the Cleveland Browns should look into doing as well.

This is something Mary Kay Cabot has echoed in one of her recent columns, and it’s not hard to see why this idea is gaining traction. The Browns are a circus right now. You have half the fan base wondering how things have gotten so disappointing with their current quarterback and the other half pretending like nothing is happening.

It’s a circus right now, and the worst part is the Browns are circling the wagons and simply not talking about the fair criticisms they’ve been getting. Adding Mayfield and his unhappiness with the franchise to an already ugly situation would just be disastrous.

One could easily see a few choice words being exchanged and a few not-so-great interactions between teammates. Lord knows how Mayfield feels about his replacement’s behavior personally and that may turn ugly. There’s no sense in bringing Mayfield to mandatory minicamp.

Cleveland Browns may be holding onto Baker Mayfield in case the worst happens

With the mounting allegations against number (2)4, the Browns may be preparing for the worst possible situation. Could Cleveland be without their brand new, shiny toy for a season or longer? It’s very possible, especially if new accusations keep mounting.

The Browns may actually believe they can just make nice with Mayfield and bring him out to play in 2022. While that certainly could happen, teams aren’t usually as brain dead as the Texans, who sat their former starter out of last season due to trade demands.

Usually, teams just capitulate and trade the player. So logically, if Mayfield isn’t on board, it still makes sense to trade him but would Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry demand Mayfield bail out their bad decision-making in the event of a season-long suspension to their current starter?

One would hope they wouldn’t be that foolish. Pro sports requires trust and the Browns have proven to Mayfield that he can’t trust them.