Jake's Take | Patience will pay off for Browns in Baker Mayfield saga

CLEVELAND — What's the rush? What's the hurry?

No matter where I turn the channel or radio, all I hear is how the Browns must find a trade partner in a deal for Baker Mayfield ASAP.

Like yesterday.

Why? What is the rush?

"The Browns have to re-open talks with the Carolina Panthers. The Browns must call Seattle and work out a deal to get Baker out of Cleveland."

Who says?

What the Browns need to do, and continue to do, is be patient. Don't jump the gun on a deal that isn't exactly what they want and need.

The No. 1 reaction from fans is the fact Mayfield is guaranteed to make $18.9 million this season. No matter who he plays for, or even if he plays, Baker is going to bank that money.

And every trade partner the Browns have talked to since Mayfield requested a trade has made it a stipulation that the Browns have to pay a majority of his salary for the 2022 season.

So why not sit back and wait? See what comes up.

I say the Browns wait for a team to get desperate instead of being the desperate ones. We already know what is going to happen. A starter is going to get injured or get off to a very slow start and make management start to second guess if it has their guy or not.

Meanwhile, the Browns will have Mayfield there to dangle in front of teams' faces as a potential upgrade at the quarterback position. Seattle is determined to roll with Drew Locke. OK. Let's see how the first few weeks go and if Pete Carroll, who isn't getting any younger, is willing to go through a season in which his team may not make the playoffs.

The Browns can then reengage with the Seahawks and say, "Hey, Baker took us to the playoffs, he can take you, too. Let's make a deal."

The Panthers drafted Matt Corral in the third round and have Sam Darnold slated as the starter. It is laughable to think they believe they are a playoff team with that QB situation, and when they realize that after Week 3 they will come calling for Mayfield.

So why rush to make a move now? Baker isn't going to make some crazy number on a roster bonus. If the Browns release him, they are still going to have to pay him. So why not keep him on the roster, make him inactive and wait for someone to come calling with an offer they can't refuse?

Sure, the Browns might end up having to keep him on the roster the entire season and pay him $18.9 million to sit at home and, no, that isn't a very good business move, but at one time how many head coaches were the Browns paying?

From 1999-2012, the Browns paid coaches just north of $55 million to NOT coach their team. It didn't get much better after that with Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens all getting fired with multiple years and multiple millions of dollars left on their deals. And the Browns paid every cent.

So, $18.9 million isn't exactly something they are worried about for one season. And by the trade deadline, I guarantee a team will make a deal and pay the entirety of the remaining money on Mayfield's deal.

The next reason why the Browns need to stay patient with the saga is it isn't like they are going to get exponentially better this season in a potential deal for Mayfield. It will likely be draft picks coming their way, and not very high ones at that with the way he has been inconsistent over the last four years and with his recent soap opera comments.

The return will definitely not be very good if the Browns make a move now when teams aren't exactly desperate. They are already trying to get Mayfield for as little as possible and make the Browns pay his salary.

Come crunch time, the trade package may be better and the willingness to pay his salary will be there.

The fact is the Browns have zero leverage right now. Key words: right now. Soon, they will and general manager Andrew Berry seems like a guy who is extremely poised and willing to play hardball and win.

Berry had already proved that with his historic deal for Deshaun Watson. He made the absolute best move for the team on the football field. Off of it, maybe not, but on the field, the move was what was necessary. Berry put the Browns in a position to win now and actually go into each and every game with the confidence to win game in and game out.

And for the fans who are all in their feelings about Watson, I understand. You have your right to feel the way you want to feel. But don't expect the Browns to care because they don't and they shouldn't. The only thing the Browns owe fans is a championship football team, and that is exactly what they did with the Watson deal.

If you are looking to the NFL for your moral compass, that may be the wrong place to look.

When it comes to the Browns and the Baker Mayfield saga, they don't owe anyone anything. Yes, thank you, Baker, for leading the team to the playoffs for the first time in what feels like a lifetime. But the inconsistency hinders this team from being a Super Bowl contender, and that is why the Browns had to make the move.

They don't owe Baker anything, except $18.8 million of course.

And they will find a new home for him to restart his career but it will be on their timeline, not his, and certainly not on anyone else's.

And that patience will be a virtue for the Browns.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Jake's Take Patience will be a virtue for Browns in Mayfield saga