Browns Season Frustrating Enough Without Contrived Tripe

Two thirds of the way through a slog of a season, there are a number of theories bordering on conspiratorial going around with the Cleveland Browns that don't make sense or hold up under scrutiny. Let's discuss three of them.

Whether we were ready to accept it at the time or not, the moment Baker Mayfield injured his shoulder against the Houston Texans drastically impacted what the Cleveland Browns could achieve this season. Rather than slowly come to grips with the fact the team simply wasn't going to be as good as we all believed it could be, some have opted to replace this reality with one of their own, coming up with explanations that often revise history and border on conspiratorial.

Mayfield's shoulder injury certainly isn't the only thing that has gone awry with the Browns this season, but it was the moment when we all collectively hoped that somehow they'd figure out somehow to be just as good in spite of it, fully knowing better even in the moment. The additional issues, including injuries and players simply not living up to expectations have combined to making this a difficult year to consume.

Perhaps it would be easier for some to ingest if the Browns simply imploded rather than clawing their way to a 6-5 record with pivotal back to back games with the Baltimore Ravens.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, seeds have been planted to a poisonous tree that provides ideas that are either completely irrelevant or don't hold up to any level of scrutiny.

Andrew Berry didn't want to draft Baker Mayfield

Promoting this idea is entirely coming from people who simply want the Browns to move on from Mayfield and are looking for any reason they can in order to assure themselves it will happen.

When the Browns evaluated the quarterback class in 2018, then general manager John Dorsey told the public he had Assistant GM Eliot Wolf, Vice President of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith and Andrew Berry to evaluate them independently. When they all came back, Baker Mayfield was the unanimous choice.

The fact Berry didn't hand in the card is a technicality. Berry also came back to the team after Kevin Stefanski was hired to be the head coach, who went for the job twice and ultimately took it at least in part because of he wanted to coach Mayfield.

Ultimately, none of this is relevant, because even if Berry was the one who actually picked Mayfield, he still has to act in the best interest of the team. If they come to the conclusion they can upgrade the position, they will.

The idea that if Berry is somehow attached to Mayfield, he will have to be fired or somehow lessened because of it makes no sense.

Just in the last few seasons, this dynamic has played out in no fewer than three teams in the NFL with no lasting ramifications for those involved.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim selected Josh Rosen 10th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, the same class Mayfield was selected. The next season, Keim selected Kyler Murray with the first overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. They traded Rosen and Keim continues to operate as the GM.

Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier selected Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. He's also tried on multiple occasions to trade for Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans. They continue to be the prohibitive favorite to get him this offseason

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman traded up in the 2016 NFL Draft to select Carson Wentz, going all the way up to the second pick to get him. He also signed him to a lucrative four-year $128 million extension in 2019. Then on April 6th, 2021, Roseman traded Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts. Jalen Hurts is currently the quarterback of the Eagles and it's possible they could be in the market for a quarterback this offseason.

All three have made significant investments at the quarterback position and then have moved on or plan to. They have acted in the best interests of their team and continue to be employed. 

That's all Andrew Berry has to do and all he should be expected to do. The rest is totally unnecessary.

Baker Mayfield and the Browns are headed for a divorce

This has come from various people within local media, both in radio and print even going as far as suggesting Mayfield wants to play for the... Houston Texans for... reasons? It all strains credulity.

Given the Browns track record, this type of declaration is often safe because the organization is bad enough to make it come to fruition eventually. That is no longer the case and this logic doesn't hold up under the most basic scrutiny.

If the Browns did not want Mayfield, they could protect him from himself and take him out or even shut him down. Despite any number of opportunities to do so, they continue to put him out there rather than putting in healthy backup quarterback Case Keenum, who only played against the Denver Broncos when Mayfield was ruled out by doctors. The Browns won that game.

It's head coach Kevin Stefanski's decision (we'll get to that one in a minute). Stefanski's decision inherently is telling everyone Mayfield provides the best chance to win, whether we agree with him or not.

Save for a lazy argument over the fact Mayfield hasn't been extended yet (neither has Lamar Jackson), the Browns have done everything to support and continue to build around Mayfield as the quarterback of this team.

From Mayfield's standpoint, if he didn't want to play for the Browns, why is he going through what has to be an agonizing amount of pain just to drag himself out on the field to look like a shell of himself, play the few guts he has left out to be booed at home?

I don't understand booing your own team or the purpose behind it, but that's not up to me and beside the point.

Mayfield is doing everything in his power to try to play and win football games. This season has been incredibly difficult on Mayfield mentally as well as physically as he's acknowledged. If he doesn't want to be here, he could effectively shut it down and opt for what will likely be a four month process with his shoulder surgery and recovery. This has been an option for him since the injury and given how he's been scrutinized this season likely would've been the smartest play to simply retain his value and his promise in the eyes of many onlookers.

This isn't in Mayfield's history either. Every time he's faced adversity in his football career, he has fought it head on, often double birding it, as opposed to running away, his decision to decline commenting to the media after the Detroit Lions game notwithstanding. He's going t have to answer for it as it makes him look bad, especially after a victory.

So if both the Browns and Mayfield are doing everything in their power for each other to make this work, why are they headed for a divorce again?

Instead of simply saying the Browns should find a way to move on from Mayfield because you don't believe he's the answer, you find a way to say it with some half-assed theory that one or both of the two sides don't want to keep going despite all the evidence suggesting exactly the opposite.

Should the Browns and Mayfield go on to do great things, this is far easier to forget and defend than saying you didn't believe in Mayfield.

If anything, the Browns can be criticized for believing in Mayfield too much given his obvious physical limitations due to the injuries. That may ultimately be hurting the team.

Injuries suck as does losing. There is plenty of reason for everyone involved in this organization to be frustrated with the results of this season, some of which are totally out of their control, but that is as far as they go. 

Frustration doesn't mean the team is going to make wholesale changes. Stefanski has been criticized for underreacting this year and Andrew Berry isn't one for making rash decisions.

The Browns are going to do their due diligence on every quarterback option this offseason, because that's what they do with everything. If they come to the conclusion that another option is better and attainable, they will pursue it.

Someone else is making Kevin Stefanski play Baker Mayfield

The man behind the curtain or in this case, man and woman. Despite having a good, functional organization, ownership must be getting involved and forcing the Browns to play Mayfield. To what end is unclear.

This also makes Stefanski look impotent. And maybe because he's pretty even keeled and doesn't fly off the handle either on the sideline or in press conferences makes it easier for people to believe that's the case.

The Browns have sought and achieved organizational alignment. If ownership were to make this type of edict, they would all collectively be fighting against it. They aren't acting against each other as was the case in the past.

It doesn't make sense, but there are plenty of people who want to believe this organization is just as bad as it was the previous 20 years. On some level, it's difficult to blame them.

Nevertheless, it's Stefanski's call.

READ MORE: At 6-5, Where are the Browns Now?