Baker staying, Dieken departing as Browns close season

Baker Mayfield, not yet the Browns franchise quarterback, appears to be staying.

Doug Dieken, who became a beloved Browns iconic figure years ago, is definitely leaving.

Subscribers here knew it first

That, in a nutshell, are the takeaways on Sunday as the Browns beat AFC North champion Cincinnati 21-16 at FirstEnergy Stadium in the regular-season finale and swept the season series with the Bengals for the second straight season

Reports surfaced early Sunday morning that the Browns are moving forward with Mayfield for next season. His status has been the subject of discussion for weeks, with the conversation being ramped up incredibly more when the Browns lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday and were eliminated from playoff consideration. Mayfield was subsequently shelved for the finale so he would not further hurt his left shoulder that will be surgically repaired soon.

This is a good move — no, make that a great move — because Mayfield’s problems began this season when he hurt his shoulder. Even though it wasn’t his throwing shoulder, he couldn’t fully open up his body to throw. It impeded his motion greatly. It was easily detectable. He didn’t look right, and he didn’t play well, especially down the stretch in the fourth quarter when most NFL games are won and lost and the teams that succeed are the ones whose quarterbacks make plays. Mayfield couldn’t do so whereas last season he could, and it’s why the Browns, who finished 8-9, lost six games by six points or less after going 11-5 in 2020 and making the playoffs after winning seven games by six points or less.

Indeed, a healthy Mayfield would have made all the difference in the world, which is something the anti-Mayfield crowd doesn’t want to hear, or acknowledge.

What the Browns need to do in the offseason — it is their No. 1 goal; nothing else is even remotely close — is to find a talented, speedy wide receiver who can run downfield and make plays, thus stretching the defense by moving those safeties out of the box. It opens up the running game and play-action. If they don’t select a wideout with their first-round pick in the NFL Draft, then I — and everyone else in the free world — will be absolutely stunned.

The Mayfield decision is superb for another reason in that it keeps all the noise about the quarterback situation from getting into the offseason and creating a distraction and a big headache. The Browns, who under-achieved greatly this season, already have enough to do in the offseason without being dragged down by thst.

As for Dieken, he is retiring and was working his last game as the color analyst on the Browns Radio Network, a job he held for 34 years. He was the club’s left tackle for 14 years and worked three years for the Browns Trust. The 51 total years of service is a Browns record. He is Mr. Cleveland Browns, and it was evidenced all week leading up to the game and very much more so on Sunday.

The home radio booth at FirstEnergy Stadium was named in honor of Dieken, who will turn 73 — this jersey number — in a month. Fans cheered loudly during a timeout in the game when the announcement was made.

And when the Browns had clinched the win and fans began departing, they stopped to wave to Dieken in the radio booth, saying their goodbyes to a man who has been oh so special to three generations of Northeast Ohioans.

In typical fashion, the fun-loving, wise-cracking Dieken had the best line of the day.

“I thought they might name the bathroom in the press box for me because I used it so much over the years,” he said.

When play-by-play announcer Jim Donovan and Dieken got ready to sign off together for the last time, the latter, with his family squeezed into the booth with him, thanked — again in typical fashion for him — anybody and everybody with whom he had worked, and played with, with the Browns in the last half-century-plus

After which Donovan said simply, “I love ya, buddy.”

He was speaking for a lot of people.

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By Steve King