You see what he does this year and you move forward from there.

I'm pleased with what we've seen.

I'm pleased with the progress, particularly in the second half of the season, which I gave him credit for last year.

But in the end, I sold on him yet.

No.

Well, do the to the Browns.

Believe in Baker Mayfield.

I think the answer is yes.

They believe in him.

They have a vested interest in believing him because they invested the number one overall pick in the draft in him, so they're gonna let him fail before they move on.

But he had a really, really good year.

I know he's on a loaded team.

You know who else was on a loaded team last year?

Tom Brady.

And while Tom Brady was coming to a new team, Baker Mayfield, almost every year of his career, is kind of coming to a new team.

You know, he doesn't have to move and get to know a new city and everything but every year of his career.

New head coach at one point in a little over two seasons in two seasons and one game.

He played for four different head coaches.

So, of course, we didn't know how to gauge him.

Is he any good?

We don't know.

Then he got a head coaching some stability and he bawled out.

By the way, did he have more weapons than Tom Brady?

Oh, Brady had a lot of weapons.

Me.

If anyone had more, I don't know.

They both had a lot of weapons.

Probably Brady had more.

Do you know in the QB are leaders of last year We were just talking about Derek Carr.

What a fine season Derek Carr had.

He was 11th in Q b r.

You know who was 10th?

Baker Mayfield, just behind Tom Brady, who was ninth.

Baker had that kind of season now in the playoffs.

He didn't have that kind of season, though.

He did win his wild card game against divisional big brother Pittsburgh Steelers.

They lost to Kansas City, and this is before Kansas City had no offensive line at all, and it was a one score game.

So do they believe in Baker?

Mayfield, Stephen A.

The whole idea that Baker was gonna be some special quarterback who could overcome and lift up a team.

I don't think people are thinking like that anymore.

But the question is to Do you believe in him as not just a starter but a franchise quarterback is Do you think you can win a Super Bowl with him?

Do you think if whether or not he can lift up a mediocre team if you put a really good team around him, is he going to be the one that stops you from winning a Super Bowl?

I don't think so.

I don't think they think so.

I think they believe in him.

We're still getting more information all the time.

Can he take the next step?

They have a vested interest in believing, but I think they do well.

Listen, you can look at it that way, or I can look at it this way.

Uh, when, uh, Andrew Berry took over, Kevin Stefanski became the head coach.

If they were in the position that the previous regime was in a few years ago, would they have taken bacon maker Mayfield number one overall?

I don't think so.

That's how I view it.

Certainly you're going to take that position now because he's your God you've invested in them, let's see what he's got.

Uh, there's nobody definitively out there that you can go and grab per se.

So as a result, you know what?

Let's take our chances.

Let's see what we've got here We were We've been, um, Orban franchise for the better part of the last two decades.

We've gone through a lot.

We're playing with house money now because we've got to.

Not only did we get to the playoffs, not only did we win a playoff game, we beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs, so we're playing with house money right now.

I mean, we did a great job last year.

So why, Why upset the Apple cart?

We don't need to do anything differently right now.

But in terms of them believing when that question was asked about the Cleveland Browns, I'm thinking long term, and I don't think that Baker Mayfield has done enough to make you say, Long term.

I think he's made.

He's done enough for you to say That's our starting quarterback.

Let's see what he's got.

Let's put him on the field for us.

Let's move forward next season and see where it takes us, you have no problem.

None of us would have any problem with them showing that kind of faith in him.

But in terms of a long term plan, let's see.

Let's see.

Yeah, if he came up for if his deal was coming up right now, would you give him a top of the market contract?

No.

And I don't.

I think they would expect to give him something less than that, right?

But I want to point to a game that I saw where I thought, and I'm sure if I'm seeing it there, the grounds are seeing it to where I thought This is something different about Baker.

It was the game against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, and Lamar comes out.

Remember, he comes out from the locker room and he was having cramps, supposedly and all this stuff.

And Lamar throws a touchdown strike.

And now and you see Baker on the sideline just nodding like, Yep, give me that ball and he leads them right down the field.

In response now, Lamar Jackson then led the led them right down the field.

They kicked the field goal and one, but Baker Mayfield was going toe to toe with Lamar, who's an M v p.

Just last year who is more talented than almost anyone.

Lamar Jackson and Baker was going toe to toe with him.

And you can see from the look on the sideline that not only did he believe, but his belief had his team believing that, to me was like, uh, even though they lost the game was a corner turner for me.

With Baker in his in his maturation as a franchise quarterback, these things are in flux.

We don't have all the answers in the info on Baker yet, but the signs are looking good right now.

And I believe the Browns believe that, too.

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