Jessica Belmosto

Baker Mayfield was supposed to be the next Johnny Manziel. He wasn’t supposed to have a smooth transition from Oklahoma to Cleveland. His rookie year was meant to be spent on the bench and backing up veteran Tyrod Taylor. His character problem was something that needed to be dealt with and worked on. Mayfield’s arrest for public intoxication was a “rude awakening” for him. If it weren’t for that mistake, certain media personalities would not be pushing a narrative. He was great in college, regrettably made a mistake, and went first overall in the draft.  The “undraftable” quarterback had a tremendous rookie season. With the help of his teammates, the rookie is going into the final week of the season with a 7-7-1 record. After two losing seasons, the Browns are smashing narratives and trending upwards. With that being said. Why aren’t we focusing on Mayfield’s success rather than his “controversy?

Would the Johnny Manziel comparisons be alive if Baker was never arrested? If you’re unfamiliar with the situation, let’s take a look back.

Because of this incident, the media painted him as a partier. How could he be going out and partying when there’s football to be played?  There is no excuse for his behavior. If you can’t handle your liquor, maybe learn your limits. However, I think many of us can relate to making poor choices when we have been under the influence. This is where the media really started to target the QB. He was problematic because of this. One mistake. A mistake that so many college kids make. There are players in the league who have beat their significant others, children, and complete strangers, but yes, Baker Mayfield is somehow allowed to be drafted. Baker said on Skip and Shannon: Undisputed that there is no line between being a 22/23 year old and being the face of a franchise. Football comes first for him. When Baker started meeting with teams, it became clear to the owners and coaches that he was a football guy. It’s all business. This narrative of a party boy was squashed the second NFL execs started meeting with him.

Baker understands where the Johnny Manziel comparisons came from. They were both mobile quarterbacks in college and had a massive game that put their names on the map. Their talent seemed to take a backseat in those conversations. It was Baker’s character that was called into question. Grabbing his crotch in a game against Arkansas warranted a twitter apology.

Are sports not meant to be competitive? We see teams celebrate interceptions as if they’re touchdowns. A crude gesture like that should get teams fired up and ready to play. The smack talk is there to get in their heads and prove the opponent wrong. Someone getting riled up in that way is not a character issue. If he started screaming in a player’s face and instigated an altercation, yes. That would certainly be of reason to start talking about character issues.

Mayfield’s character was called into question again when he stared down former Browns head coach, Hue Jackson. Jackson was fired earlier this season after spending two seasons with the team. Jackson was then hired by division rival, Cincinnati Bengals. Hue Jackson said that the players weren’t good enough to win. So, when the team showed their former coach that they could win, Baker had to let him know.

I know that this is crazy to believe but it’s possible to talk about a player’s performance after doing something out of the ordinary. We’ve seen Brady yell on the sideline and his stats are all over the media. OBJ has had “meltdowns” on the sidelines and no one is harping on that for weeks to come. Why is that they’re so fixated on wanting this guy to fail? This narrative of Baker being some locker room problem has been squashed by Baker himself. He goes out there and does his job. He holds himself accountable and takes the heat when needed. His press conferences from his season don’t indicate that he’s a vermin yet people are harping on his competitive side.

The Browns were the laughing stock of the league. Their 635 day losing streak really helped perpetuate that. Fans joked about their track record with QBs and how that’s what their first draft pick always is. How many have worked out in the past five or ten years? I would say Baker Mayfield is truly the first one to come onto the scene and flip the script. On September 21, Tyrod Taylor left the game with a concussion. Mayfield went in and took over leading the Cleveland Browns to their first win since December 2016. Baker went 17 for 23 and finished with 201 yards. That was Cleveland’s first impression of the no good party boy.

Going into the final week of the season, Baker Mayfield is the Browns starting quarterback. Something a lot of these media people didn’t want to see. With a completion rate of 64.4% ( Sam Darnold: 57% & Josh Allen 51% ) There was unbelievable chemistry between Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry. Baker has thrown for 24 TD passes, leaving him two shy of tying Peyton Manning’s record. Three touchdowns on Sunday would make Baker the new rookie QB with the most touchdown passes. It was easy to see why everyone expected the Browns to have another repeat season. How was anyone going to go in and turn this organization around? It was a long shot but they had a chance to make the playoffs up until Week 16. Again, the media was not focused on that but rather the “issues” with Baker.

Football fans and media people see Baker differently. Fans see a football guy and certain media people see him as a future burnout. This isn’t meant as a knock to Johnny. I commend him and anyone else who gets the help they need. We’ve seen more and more athletes open up about their struggles. Kevin Love talked about experiencing an anxiety attack mid-game in his Players Tribune article. People speculated about Tuukka Rask taking a mental health break as well. More recently, Josh Gordon took a step back from the NFL to take care of his mental health. As a writer myself, I understand how important it is to gain clicks and bring in an audience. To do so based on assumption and at an expense of another says a lot about said writer. There has been more of a discussion about Baker’s behavior rather than the abuse cover-up by the NFL.

Baker Mayfield has a bright future ahead of him. There’s no doubt in my mind that he will lead a team to the playoffs. Good things take time but things in Cleveland seem to be on the right path.