I don't hate it. With Brady retiring, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Buccaneers' roster and prospects. Was that team truly a contender for years with Winston holding them back? Or did the GOAT get them further than they should have othewise gone? One thing's for certain - Goodwin will cost an absolute shitload of money.
How about a double down on ex Penn Staters? Snag Godwin in free agency and Dotson in round two... Read into it what you will, but according to Kenny Pickett, the Browns were one of the first teams to do extensive interview with him.
They'll be facing him twice a season in black and yellow -- makes sense to do a little scouting on the opposition.
FWIW, his estimated value at OTC is almost exactly what we were paying O'dell. EDIT: about $15M....If we could get him in a 3 year deal for around $40M, I'd be okay with that. He's tough as nails. He's not a diva. He knows how to play in cold climate. And he's only 26 years old...IMO, he's the top WR free agent fit for Cleveland, and it's a certainty that he wouldn't quit or pout if everything doesn't go his way on a weekly basis.
He'll be a legit #1 WR in this league. The more I watch of him, the more he reminds me of one of my favorite prospects from a couple years ago, A.J. Brown.
I’m just curious, is Pickett the only player the Browns interviewed? Typically, the teams interview as many players as possible. My guess is Pickett interviewed with at least 25 teams. This is a click bait news story. Pickett was asked on day two of practice and he happened to have interviewed with the Browns early on the week. Notice the Browns media hasn’t reported since then? It’s been sensationalized tot he point where they can keep their customers talking about it for weeks, especially if Pickett has a good game tomorrow.
Yes. Obviously that's where I was going with this. evidently you missed the "read into it what you will" preface.
MY point was that even the best Browns fans are drinking the hack press koolaid. It’s a non story that everyone is still discussing days later.
Taking a 10,000 foot overview on that meeting (looking at potential reasoning): Berry/Stefanski are simply doing due diligence They have concerns over Baker's surgery They have concerns over Baker's development They have an internal concern (ie: unknown locker room component) The Browns and Mayfield are far enough apart in what the price tag should be to warrant a possible separation They have concerns that Baker will force the issue to a spot they don't want to be left holding the bag on (ie: trying to force a trade/refusing to negotiate with the tag being the only remaining option in 2023) The Browns believe Kenny Pickett potentially represents an upgrade at the position There are trade talks/potential deals regarding Baker The Browns are trying to spotlight passer to force someone to trade ahead of them (ie: looking at increased player availability at #13) Cleveland believes there is a high potential that Pickett ends up in the AFC North/AFC Conference and they took the time to assess him for future reference Stefanski/Berry see an opportunity to draft the style of passer/player they would prefer to hitch their career to Cleveland is seeking leverage in contract negotiations with Baker Now, it could be that none, a few, some, or simply one of those options (if I took a few more minutes I could probably come up with a couple more) could be the impetus for getting a better personal relationship started with Kenny Pickett. I'm not suggesting any of those are correct (need to see what transpires over the next few weeks) but I think it's closing off all possibilities to say that the Browns would never move on from Baker, or that there isn't an inherent motive other than 'due diligence' for getting to know Kenny a little better. That's not taking a shot at your opinion on the situation, just giving mine from a broader lens. It could very well end up a non-story, or it could be the first news that broke on when the Browns decided to make a move at quarterback in 2022.
I agree non-story and the Browns have every reasonable right to do their due diligence on any QB with the issues Mayfield has had and the contract issues that may be out of their true control.
No one hates Cleveland fans as much as the Cleveland media. We have, without a doubt, the worst beat reporters in the business. They routinely will throw out "what ifs" and then another one of them will pick that up as a 'source' with Grossi and Cabot being the worst offenders here. Tony Grossi, musing: "What if the Packers wanted to trade Aaron Rodgers to Cleveland and Baker Mayfield would be moved as part of the deal?" Mary Kat Cabot, reporting: "Per sources, Packers interested in trading for Baker Mayfield." I also love how folks miss the obvious point when discussing these possible "trades" (read: clickbait) -- teams are wanting the quarterback that some fans and most of the media are happy to write off. Allegedly... The Washington Commanders have "been linked" to Mayfield, willing to part with at least the 9th overall pick in the upcoming draft The Green Bay Packers "have interest" in Mayfield as a replacement for Aaron Rodgers (would potentially involve swapping QBs) The Houston Texans "have interest" in Mayfield if they end up moving Deshaun Watson The Seattle Seahawks "would have interest" in swapping Mayfield for Russell Wilson The Minnesota Vikings "would" trade for Mayfield if they decide to move on from Kirk Cousins The New Orleans Saints "could" trade for Mayfield Astounding that these teams would love to have Mayfield while ours (allegedly) cannot wait to be rid of him.
It isn't the team, it's the fans and local media... I do NOT count the local media as fans, they are quite the opposite.
It's out of hand, especially with the fans, in regards to blaming everything on Baker. The media continues to stir it up, and let's face it, Baker made it easy for them by trying to play hurt. Nobody cares that he was trying to play through an injury. The expectations were sky high coming into the season, and gritty as it was, Baker's performance wasn't good enough. It didn't help that he had some of his worst moments when the lights were shining brightest, with obviously the 4 int. game on Christmas day standing out the most. I really do believe that a big part of the issue is simply the fact that a lot of Browns fans never wanted Baker here in the first place. He had the unfair comparisons to Johnny Manziel and the infamous Ohio State flag plant, as well as a couple other immature things he brought on himself in his college days, all of which made him unpopular with our fan base before he was even drafted. After mostly silencing his critics with impressive play through his first three seasons in spite of constant coaching changes, things unraveled on him a bit 2021, and this is the brutal nature of pro sports. It's as if all of his critics have just been waiting around for something to go wrong so they can be the first to say, "I told you so."... It's pathetic, but hopefully Baker is mentally tough enough to handle it. I'm glad Mayfield says he's getting off social media for a while.
Guess we can take this name off the hypothetical trade list. Somewhere, Grossi, a Vikings fan but beat reporter for Cleveland is crying extra tears in his butthole-shaped pillow tonight.
