Baker Mayfield Traded to Panthers for Conditional Draft Pick
Mayfield becomes just the third quarterback in NFL history to go No. 1 overall in the draft and last four or fewer seasons with the team that drafted him, according to ESPN Stats & Information, joining JaMarcus Russell (Raiders) and Jeff George (Colts).
He's gonna have a hard time selling his house in Cleveland. Not many people need that much space. Plus, the neighborhood. Who wants a hard-partying, aging rock star living next door.
Could have some cool pool parties with all that seating, though...
Deshaun Watson could buy that house with loose change from his couch.
He'd even have enough space in his new house to fit all the parties suing him...maybe
you seem like someone who frequents zillow.com
... or someone whose seen one too many dumb Progressive Insurance commercials.
Is this a whoosh? It feels like a whoosh.
If it's not a whoosh, my ability to detect sarcasm on the internet has taken a severe hit and I need to spend some time reconsidering a lot of things.
it's starting to feel like a whoosh to me too. at least a light breeze. but go ahead and reconsider maybe.. some things. it's never a bad idea.
Does he still get to do commercials?
Good for Baker, worth every bit of that 4.85m that the Panthers will absorb. He totally got shit on by the Browns while trying to gut out a season with an injured shoulder and made a scapegoat.
But I guess the Browns got what they wanted; to win at all costs. I'm sure Deshaun will work out for them.
I've seen a lot of dumb roster moves, but paying out the nose (both monetarily and in draft picks) for a POS who likely won't even play a down of football this season while throwing a respected and loyal guy under the bus (a guy who both got you to the playoffs and won a game for you, the first time in nearly 2 decades) has got to be one of, if no THE worst maneuvers I've ever seen.
Truly peak Browns right there
So just a brief counterpoint from a Browns ticket holder who REALLY liked Baker and am sad it didnt work out here:
1. The locker room last year was fractured. Right or wrong Baker was blamed for OBJ's departure and OBJ was VERY well-liked inside the team. Baker also developed a reputation as a "me-first" guy and didnt have many supporters on the team when the season ended. You'll notice there was deafening silence from his teammates after the season ended (compare the Browns reactions to Baker to the 49ers reaction to Jimmy G) and the Watson courtship began.
2. Watson has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion by the NFL, Mike Florio and a host of media talking heads. In actual court however not one but two Grand Juries declined to indict him.
3. Multiple reports from the hearing last week indicate the Watson camp believe they will receive NO punishment, much less a year, from the ex-federal judge serving as arbitrator. The NFL only brought 5 women to testify and the evidence presented was allegedly extremely weak which is probably why two GJs passed on indictments.
The number of accusers does not equal guilt, especially when all are represented by the same attorney. 24 stories with one narrator if you will. We ended that practice after the Salem Witch Trials - now actual evidence must be presented and accusers are allowed to be cross-examined and questioned.
Back to Baker. I sincerely hope the Panthers go 16-1 this year as the Browns play them week 1 of the season. I'm rooting like Hell for the guy but trust me - there's a reason his stock was so low and his injury was only a small part of it. He was not well-liked or respected inside the Browns locker room by his teammates and that reputation was known across the NFL. Hopefully that changes in Carolina.
That is a good counterpoint. Just want to point out that the same franchise got rid of OBJ in the first place and he went on to make some key plays for SB champions. They could have traded Baker instead and retained OBJ if what you are saying is how the team felt. Now, they got (ed: rid of) two good players and got one who may or may not be a team favorite and fan favorite.
It seems like they are not planning ahead and looking at the big picture. Or this may all work out. Time will tell.
Yes, our criminal justice system, which famously takes sexual assault seriously and would certainly never favor a wealthy, popular celebrity must surely be the last word on this matter.
No, the "last word" on this situation will be had by ex-Federal Judge Sue Robinson. She will have heard all the evidence presented by both the league and Watson's defense attorney. Both the NFLPA and the NFL agreed to use her as an arbitrator in personal conduct violation cases such as this one and this will be her first ruling under the new league policy.
I am perfectly fine with whatever punishment she imposes - she's an ex federal judge. What will piss me off as a Browns fan will be if Goodell over-rules her punishment to appease the masses who've been told on a daily basis by Mike Florio, Gil Brandt and others what a scumbag Watson is without seeing a scintilla of actual evidence.
As a rational Browns fan I look at this as the usual treatment by the NFL. The same league that largely ignores how many other egregious instances involving players (looking at you Browns RB Kareem Hunt, what's up Ray Rice, hey is that you Ray Lewis, good day Ben Roethlisberger, hello Antonio Brown and on and on and on) will probably put Watson out for at least half a season.
I think the reason Watson's team probably feels like they are on reasonable grounds, aside from your points earlier and above, is that the league has done even less when owners (Bob Kraft, Jerry Jones, Jerry Richardson etc.) have been involved in particularly shady situations. There is absolutely no way the league wants Watson's team to litigate Brady style and have things come out in discovery.
I can’t imagine a worse pool of legal experts to pull from for an arbitrator than retired federal judges.
12 random ass people from the general population?
Completely unrelated to Deshaun Watson but I've seen jury trials, and not enough people worry about the fact that every day people's lives are decided by 12 random ass people, and it's not entirely random because the clever ones tend to find ways to weasel out of service and the final jury ends up being disproportionally composed of people that don't have anything better to do.
I once surveyed a jury after they returned a guilty verdict in an age discrimination case and the defense attorney asked one of the jurors why they thought his client discriminated against the plaintiff on the basis of her age and the juror's response was "I didn't think she was discriminated against because of her age." Right after returning a verdict saying she was discriminated against because of her age. Like . . . what even?
I don’t buy Watson as an innocent but don’t think that side of it even matters.
He’ll face minimal suspension because the arbiter was selected by the NFL & NFLPA, and both of those organizations want good players to play football.
Yes, as we all know, going to almost 100 different massage therapists from instagram in under a year is very normal. Terrible take here MGO. Watson is a predator.
66, not 100, according to the NYT., no need to inflate it further.
But herein lies the problem. You have seen exactly zero evidence yet have determined he's a predator based on the number of accusations alone and people like you are who the NFL has to appease, regardless of what facts each side has presented. I'm fine with whatever punishment the ex-Federal judge doles out. That is what she's trained to do and she, unlike you or me, has seen ALL the evidence and listened to all the accusers.
Are you?
mGrowOld, I usually agree with your posts as they are always either well thought out and / or funny, however, on this topic we can agree to disagree. Why would any innocent, boy scout-esque NFL star QB need to have used 66 masseuse! Is it that hard to find one that can help work for you? Plus, there were many reports how the Texans facilitated and helped hide these incidents.
And to your previous point about them using the same lawyer, in the Nasser and Anderson cases, scores of plaintiffs used a few lawyers. It would be inefficient for all 24 plaintiffs to use different legal counsel.
Have you read any of the depositions on what Watson requested of them? Here is what I think the reason he used so many different masseuses:
1. The women he selected were paid to perform a "service". The oldest profession in the world if you know what I mean. Which is why he doesn't believe he did anything wrong. It also explains why so many wished to remain anonymous and almost none wanted their background investigated. Is that violating the personal conduct policy? Ask Robert Kraft.
2. He is a pretty weird dude with a major kink. If I had to bet money I'd say he's probably gay (NTTAWWT) but hasn't come to terms internally with that yet.
And thanks. I didn't expect this take to be very popular here but there is a legitimate "other side" to be heard.
Just because they may have been prostitutes does not mean Watson isn't a predator scum who violated the masseuses past any agreed upon terms.
Did you actually read all the depositions? Some of the excepts sound very bad and many of the ladies were clearly not prostitutes.
Umm... the going to 66 instagram masseuses IS evidence.
Evidence of what exactly?
Being too horny? Being a latent homosexual? A sexual predator? Being afraid of relationships? Liking strange?
Which one?
Love ya MGO, but you're ignoring a lot of the evidence including the lady who said she was crying afterwards, and Deshaun even acknowledged that in his texts to her. Also not sure what this latent homosexual theory has anything to do with this, or where you are getting that from.
Josina Anderson, one the best if not THE best NFL reporters is just now reporting that the NFL presented absolutely NO evidence of any coercian, force or unwanted behavior by Watson over the five women they brought to testify against him. :
[Cont.] I was also told the NFL presented no evidence of violence, force, threat or coercion in the allegations of the 5 women they focused on at the hearing before Sue Robinson, as first reported by @ProFootballTalk in part. 4/4
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) July 7, 2022
Being a weird sex creep.
...and paying for sex, even completely consensual, is both gross/creepy AND illegal.
In fact - just asking if the masseuse will have sex for money is illegal solicitation of prostitution.
"Two Grand Juries declined to indict him"--Just to add...IN TEXAS. Not the state I would refer to having a calibrated moral compass.
I agree Baker is not perfect and hopefully learned through this whole ordeal. Like if he has an injury just say "fuck it" I'm done and having season ending surgery.
Meanwhile the Browns just stay the course by eagerly adding Watson knowing the baggage. Fits in well with Josh Gordon, Johnny Manziel, Kareem Hunt, Greg Robinson, Mychal Kendricks etc. Of course OBJ was a perfect fit. To me the Browns resemble the Bengals of a decade ago.
Jimmy Haslem had his own problems with federal fraud and is probably the most hated owner in the NFL next to Dan Snyder so I don't think the NFL will show any leniency with Deshaun since the majority of other owners are very pissed off from that fully guaranteed contract and see it as payback time.
Don't have a horse in the race, just don't see Watson as innocent and an explanation how he ended up in Cleveland. JMO.
What state does have a moral compass in your opinion sweetheart?
Wow, a Deshaun Watson defender/apologist. Yucky yucky yuck. I need a shower.
I echo #1. However, there were several things that I saw with rose colored glasses, and continually made excuses for concerning his behavior. I bet a couple of pressers with some off color comments about Cleveland, which we both know are coming, and I will hate his guts.
Whatever gets Emily Mayfield out of this city the fastest, I'm for.
As far as #2, a couple of 70 yard laser beams, and a 40 yard scramble on 3rd and 18, all of this goes away. I will continue to see things with rose colored glasses, and make excuses because he plays on my team now. It's as simple as that.
I don't consider professional athletes my moral superiors, and if twitter was around in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, I guarantee 9/10 of our heroes would have let us down. I won't buy my kids his jersey, but I'm not going to stop being a Browns fan. If everyone stopped rooting for their teams based on a member having low character, then there would be no fans left.
Hell, our fucking owner is a white collar crime scumbag who should be in jail.
Some of the actual facts coming out are insane. One girl said he ruined her life and she was afraid to do her job ever again, yet there were text messages from her the next day after massaging him about how much she wants to see him again, and she could stop by his house if he wants. I enjoy how the detective testified that she viewed him as guilty and then worked the investigation from there. Fantastic police work, go against the very fiber of innocent until proven guilty, and then bend things to fit your narrative. I raised an eyebrow as soon as i saw that they were all represented by the same attorney, that doesn't make all of them liars.
The point is, as a Browns fan, none of us deserve to have to deal with this. I won't act like the NFL has ever stood for anything righteous, I simply want to relax for a few hours on Sunday.
Thanks for the memories 6, the best I've had as a fan of this miserable team. I'll see you week 1, we will have 8 in the box with everyone holding their hands up. Just a reminder that both of our DEs are faster than you.
fuck, and i can't say this hard enough, the browns, committing a quarter of a billion dollars to a serial sexual predator while simultaneously asking for a billion-dollar handout from the government so they can showcase that asshole when he returns from his inevitable one-year suspension from the sport.
good for baker mayfield, and i can't believe i'm typing that.
Hmm, I’m starting to detect similarities between the Browns and OSU
It's no coincidence my Browns/OSU fan acquaintances are the ones most vehemently defending Watson.
We’ll he’s better than Sam “I see ghosts” Darnold and his caveman forehead.
Seems like a step up for Mayfield.
I think he is from the Austin/Lake Travis area?
I'm really rooting for the guy and I hope he has a tremendous career with the Panthers. The Browns went from a lovable struggling franchise to a despised struggling franchise with one horrible decision. Seriously, you give THAT guy the biggest contract in NFL history, so he can pay off his civil suits and hopefully play for you after two years out of the game?
Baker was such an obvious bust. Anyone could see it coming on draft day.
Awful take lmao. He won 12 games, the division, and a playoff game for the BROWNS.
He's so good only one team offered a 5th round pick for him to be a backup. Got it.
I love 6, but he never won the division.
On his draft day I was talking to some Browns fans. My honest feeling were at the time that whatever player the Browns drafted would not do as well. Same for the last several quarterbacks they drafted. It seems like they turn over the front office every few years. Then the new front office comes up with different schemes and ideals for players then the previous front office, so the old players do not fit. During the next season or two (or three) there is an adjustment needed, but no one has the patience to see it through. Then they start the cycle again. I believe the Browns have ruined several potentially great players over the years.
I can only look at the Browns situation and just laugh at them endlessly for the situation they put themselves in. Shelling out that kind of money, all guaranteed, to a man who may very well never play a single down of football for you, is just peak Browns. Deshaun deserves his day in court like every American, but if that 24th story is actually true, man does he have some issues to work on. The is the kind of move that gets head coaches and GMs fired.
As for Baker, I'm just glad to see him get a fresh start. I don't know what his status was like in the locker room, how well-liked he was, if he was liked at all, but I can certainly understand his frustration and big desire for getting the eff out of Cleveland after how everything went down.
I'm not sure if he would've sat out for the year even if he couldn't be traded and Deshaun was suspended, but if that had come to pass, if I were his agent I would've begged him to swallow his pride and play.
"Baker, I know how bad you want to tell the entire front office exactly how you feel, I know how bad you want to get out of here, but you don't have a lot of leverage right now for getting the kind of money or opportunity that you want at your next stop. Swallow your pride for the rest of the year, show up, be a great teammate, ball out as much as possible, win some games, and continue to show the Browns how much they screwed up the minute they signed Watson, get your next contract. AND THEN....you can walk into the owner's and GM's office and tell them exactly how you feel. And it'll feel so much sweeter when you do."
Anywho, good luck to him.
I 100% co-sign your last paragraph as that's exactly what I hoped would happen too. I saw the situation as you do - an opportunity for Baker to prove the doubters wrong and the Browns to have a competent QB while they wait for Watson.
Apparently the situation was too far gone for that to take place.
Dude has gotten a bad hand. He's orders of magnitude better than Darnold. Steal for Carolina, even if he doesn't become a franchise guy. Also, fuck Deshaun Watson and the Browns.
Eli Manning:
Drafted #1 by San Diego, never played for them.
He did win a couple of SuperBowls with the NY team that traded for him on draft day.
How good is Conditional Draft Pick?