Baker Mayfield was doomed the moment the Cleveland Browns got a new front office

Baker Mayfield was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. For the organization, it was a bit of a reset. John Dorsey was in place as GM, and the quarterback was his first selection. The two were, thus, paired up for their respective successes and failures, or, at least, that was the long-term idea.

Instead, Dorsey was fired following the 2019 season. He was in charge for two years, saw his head coach pick in Freddie Kitchens fail, and had ownership turn on him. Thus, another reset was in order. This time, the reset meant a new front office and a new head coach.

Andrew Berry was brought in as GM, and Kevin Stefanski was hired as head coach. That meant that, after only two NFL seasons, Mayfield was dealing with an entirely new leadership group. This fact doomed him early in his career and led to the current situation where he is seeking another chance elsewhere.

Baker Mayfield was not chosen by the current regime

Cincinnati Bengals v Cleveland Browns

Front offices love to choose their own players. That is just the nature of the business. In most organizations, three or four years may pass before ownership makes a change. But with the Browns, rapid changes were the norm up until recently for owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

Dorsey himself replaced Sashi Brown, who led a tanking campaign to acquire top picks, which resulted in players like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, and Mayfield. Yet he was let go, even though his plan seemed to work to perfection.

Then, Dorsey was brought in to maximize the team's potential. But he was forced to stick with Hue Jackson to open the 2018 season, only for the coach to be fired midway through. Kitchens, then, got the job in 2019, and another losing season was enough for ownership to make sweeping changes.

Stuck in the middle of all of this was Mayfield. Fans must also remember he started during the Stefanski era, during a COVID-impacted season, where it was hard for teams to meet in person and operate as they normally would. That meant three different head coaches in three years with a new front office philosophy in place as well.

Player evaluation is subjective, so while Dorsey may have extended Mayfield, Berry and his group were clearly not convinced. They may have wanted their own guy all along, and that explains why the quarterback was forced to earn an extension in 2021, which he failed to do.

The pressure was on, and he was given up on in favor of Watson. But the writing was on the wall as soon as the team fired the man who believed in him enough to take him No. 1 overall in a stacked 2018 quarterback class. Once his top supporter was gone, the new regime could look for reasons not to keep him around, instead of the other way around.

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