Getty Images Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield is coming off of a stellar year, improving nearly every aspect of his game and leading the Cleveland Browns franchise to its first playoff win in more than a quarter-century.
Despite that, critics of Mayfield like to throw around the word “bust” when they talk about the former No. 1 overall pick, which seems like an absurd take at this point in his career.
Mayfield has not been shy about calling out his critics and stumbled upon a post that labeled him among the biggest Heisman busts, along with Tim Tebow and Robert Griffin III. Mayfield re-posted the graphic from Game Day NFL — an account with just over 35,000 followers — along with the zipper-mouth emoji.
Baker Mayfield\’s Instagram
Most of the comments share a similar sentiment, asking why is Mayfield included in this graphic, especially when someone like Johnny Manziel was available instead.
Baker Mayfield on Verge of Second Contract With Browns
The Browns’ quarterback struggles over the years have been well-documented. However, they seem to have found their quarterback of the future in Mayfield, who they selected with the top pick in the 2018 draft.
After a fairly disappointing second season — passing for 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions — Mayfield bounced back with 26 touchdown passes and just 8 picks. The Browns now face a decision on Mayfield this offseason, with the ability to pick up his fifth-year option or extend him long term. And there’s benefits to both routes.
Executing Mayfield’s fifth-year option — which would be for the 2022 season — would give the team another season to make absolutely sure he’s their franchise quarterback. On the other hand, getting an extension done now could save the team some money, with extensions for quarterbacks going up astronomically every offseason.
“We are really happy with Baker,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters at the end of the season. “He did an excellent job this year. He led us to first playoff appearance in eons. We got 12 wins, played winning football all year developed a really strong relationship with Kevin and the offensive staff and really, like I mentioned last week, he really thrives on a weekly basis both on and off the field. We are very, very pleased with him. We would not be where we were at the end of the season without his performance. He had a really tremendous season.”
Mayfield has also embraced a larger leadership role and has been a nice tool for the team during free a
Mayfield Responds to Fan Wanting to Name Child After Him
Mayfield was busy on social media on Tuesday, also responding to a fan who needed his seal of approval to name his boy “Baker.”
“My wife said if we were to have a boy, we can name him Baker if [Baker Mayfield] responds to this tweet. Make it happen!”
@Kyle_CLE_OSU @emilywmayfield6 Hopefully I’m not too late on this…
It took a few days but Mayfield finally got around to responding, writing: “Hopefully I’m not too late on this…”
If Mayfield does ink a long-term extension to stay in Cleveland, expect many more Bakers to be running around down the road.
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Browns QB Baker Mayfield Claps Back Over ‘Bust’ Label