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Oh man, the Browns are going to Brown.

Even when they try to celebrate something, it somehow turns into a punchline.

While some are saying that this incident was staged and there is the argument that no publicity is bad publicity, I find that hard to believe. Building brand recognition based on making mistakes is not the best model to conduct business.

It’s just the way of that franchise, but only the tip of the iceberg.

The real iceberg beneath the surface?

The Browns’ decision to move on from Baker Mayfield and bet their future on Deshaun Watson. It’s arguably the franchise’s biggest blunder since its revival and one of the biggest mistakes in NFL history. Not only did it cost them three first-round picks, but they also then inked Watson to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal. What have they gotten in return?

A 9–10 record over three seasons, a season-ending shoulder surgery, and a ruptured Achilles tendon — twice. That’s it.

Ouch.

Sending Mayfield packing hurts just as bad. After being the only signal-caller on a laundry list of quarterbacks to guide them to the playoffs since the Bill Belichick-Vinny Testaverde days, he was treated like dirty laundry and cast aside.

Only to find the perfect home in Tampa Bay, and he is not looking back.

Baker Mayfield On The Browns: “Not My Problem Anymore”

The Browns have attempted to put several band-aids on the quarterback position through various methods. With Deshaun Watson out for the year, they re-signed 40-year-old Joe Flacco, traded for Kenny Pickett, and drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the third and fifth rounds, respectively.

All when they could have just kept Baker Mayfield.

Former Browns QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

When asked about how the organization fixes its problem on the New Heights Podcast with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce, Mayfield exercised his right to remain silent.

“Listen, I plead the fifth,” Mayfield said. “When I was healthy, I was starting to get pretty damn good there.”

Mayfield revitalized the laughingstock organization coming in as the first overall pick in 2018. He ended their 19-game winless streak in his debut and set a then-rookie record with 27 touchdown passes despite not starting until Week 3. His best season came in 2020, when he threw for 3,563 yards, 26 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions, leading the Browns to an 11–5 record and their first playoff win since 1994, a 48–37 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

By 2021, he was gone. While the Browns have gone from playoff hopefuls back to draft-pick scavengers, Mayfield doesn’t lose sleep over it.

“Not my problem anymore,” Mayfield added.

Talk about having the last laugh.

On The Flip Side, The Bucs Have Let Baker Mayfield Fit Right In

The Bucs and Baker Mayfield took chances on each other when he put pen to paper signing a one-year deal in March 2023. Everyone knows the story and just how well it has gone so far.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

By all accounts, it has been a best-case scenario of Tampa Bay finding its franchise quarterback at an affordable rate and for Mayfield finding his long-term home. When asked by the Kelce’s what that feels like, he mentioned that this organization has welcomed him for who he is as a person, which has only brought the best out of him as a player.

“This isn’t to shit on the other teams,” Mayfield started by saying. “When you step in and your GM and head coach say, ‘Hey, just be you,’ after being told at every stop and everywhere I go, ‘Hey, you need to tone it down a little bit. You need to be a franchise quarterback.’ That’s just not who I am.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

“I wear my emotions on my sleeves. We’ve hung out, you guys know me. I’m going to talk shit; I’m going to do whatever. When it’s time to turn the lights on and go do something, I’m going to do it. When I stepped into the building, they all told me just to be myself. It’s been, not to say comfortable, but it’s felt like home since the beginning. As a quarterback that’s been through a little bit of a journey, you can’t ask for anything else.”

All players go through journeys, and those who face the toughest obstacles and rise above them are the stories most often told. Baker Mayfield is writing out his own narrative with the Bucs and has the chance to be different, all while his former team is left picking up the pieces of their own mistakes.