Nobody knew it then, but the Cleveland Browns made one of the most horribly bad decisions in NFL history in 2022 when they sold the farm to trade for QB Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans and decided to part ways with Baker Mayfield.
Cleveland sent six draft picks, including three first-rounders, Houston’s way in exchange for Watson.
To be entirely fair, Watson was looking like an elite quarterback prior to the trade. He earned three consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2018 to 2020 with the Houston Texans.
He threw for a league-leading 4,823 passing yards, had the third-best touchdown to interception ratio, and the second-best passer rating.
On the other hand, Baker Mayfield came off a year where he threw for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions in 14 games played.
The decision seemed easy back then.
It turns out that the Browns made the worst decision ever, as it was further revealed this past Sunday.
Cleveland Browns fans showered the team with boos during their 33-17 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the season-opener on Sunday as Watson finished 24 of 45 for 169 yards with two interceptions and one TD.
Baker Mayfield threw for 289 passing yards and four touchdowns in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders.
Fans couldn’t help but to troll the Browns over this:
So you’re telling me the Cleveland Browns got rid of Baker Mayfield (who is playing fantastic right now) so they could throw away 230 MILLION dollars + SIX draft picks, and whatever future they had, for “Deshaun Watson” pic.twitter.com/haD0RoZiBq
— PWszn(1-0) (@PutridLobster) September 8, 2024
Baker Mayfield Has Outplayed Deshaun Watson Since 2022
Baker Mayfield was the answer. He just needed more time.
The Cleveland Browns thought Deshaun Watson was the answer so they traded for him and gave him a five-year, $230 million contract has aged quite poorly.
Since 2022, Mayfield has outplayed Watson, racking up 6,496 passing yards to Watson’s 2,386 yards, per Bleacher Report.
Mayfield has 44 touchdowns, and Watson has 11 touchdowns.
