The determining factor on Baker Mayfield

Here’s the thing everybody is missing in the discussion about the king-term future with the Browns of quarterback Baker Mayfield.

It is that Mayfield was not brought in originally by this current regime of General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. It was GM John Dorsey, when “Hilarious” Hue Jackson was the head coach, who took Mayfield No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

As such, the Berry-Stefanski team isn’t beholding to Mayfield. They inherited him. So if they can think he can be their guy going forward, then they will keep him. And if they don’t think he can, then they won’t keep him.

It is as simple as that. It really is.

Now, if it had been Berry who drafted Mayfield when Berry was also the head coach, then the leash on the quarterback would be much, much longer because the two men would have been involved in the time, effort, spending of money and decision-making to get him, In that regard, a club would be willing to give him more chances to prove himself.

That’s the way it works in the NFL. A GM-head coach team will take responsibility only for the players they have acquired, not those they inherited. That was on someone else’s watch.

It’s like when you buy a house. You have no problem ripping out and discarding that old carpet, the kitchen cabinets and the landscaping. The previous owner(s) paid for that. It wasn’t your money. So, it’s no skin off your back.

It’s that way with any player, really, but especially with the quarterback, who plays the most important position in team sports. The success of the quarterback is tied directly not just to the success of the offense, but also to that of the team overall. The jobs of the GM and head coach depend on it.

Just keep all of that in mind as the Baker Mayfield saga plays out.

By Steve King

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