"We did not know we would replace him" - Browns GM claims Baker Mayfield was not out of the team's future plans in October

The Cleveland Browns introduced Deshaun Watson on Friday afternoon by holding a press conference filled with tough questions. Yet one topic barely touched upon was the status of former franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield.

He is now hoping for a trade, while the team is desperate to do the same to avoid releasing him and taking on nearly $19 million in dead money.

One interesting soundbite from Friday came from Browns GM Andrew Berry, who said the Watson search was a "five-month odyssey."

That raised questions about whether the team was already planning to move on from Mayfield way back in October. Berry shot down that notion in response to a question on the matter:

"So that's typically the amount that's typically the time in the year that we begin our planning for the next offseason. So usually once the trade deadline passes, you're building your free agency board, you're going to late fall in terms of your your draft process. So that is the time that you'll begin a lot of work on a lot of players. Obviously given the complexity of Deshaun's situation at the time there was there was going to be additional work needed to make sure to vet it as thoroughly as possible."

Yet while giving this answer, Berry did reveal that the team was looking into Watson while Mayfield was under center. He answered the question indirectly, perhaps without realizing it.

Browns had long-term plans to move on from Baker Mayfield

Cleveland Browns v Green Bay Packers

Berry continued and seemed to confirm the idea that the team was looking for an upgrade under center in the middle of the 2021 season:

"So at that time, you know, we had made no specific decisions really probably anywhere on the roster, but we were trying to make sure that we, we obviously had enough time to do do as much as we could to be better at that position."

Berry openly admitted that the team was looking to get better at the quarterback position. And if that meant looking for outside help, a decision was likely made on Mayfield at the time.

The former No. 1 overall pick remains on the roster as his trade market has cooled off. No one knows what is next, but fans do know he no longer has a future starting in Cleveland now that Watson is in town. The Browns front office seemingly knew this before anyone else back in October.