It’s looking more and more likely that new Cleveland Browns QB1 Deshaun Watson will be suspended to start the 2022 season.
Incumbent starter Baker Mayfield is still on the Browns roster, but it’s extremely unlikely that he takes the field in an orange jersey at any point this coming season.
According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the idea that Mayfield suits up for the Browns in 2022 is “all but impossible.”
“A scenario of trying to mend fences with Mayfield and have him play one more season for them after effectively rejecting him as their guy is considered all but impossible to accomplish,” Wilson reports.
Mayfield requested a trade away from the Cleveland organization just a few days before they landed Watson in a blockbuster trade deal with the Houston Texans. Given his parting comments to the team that drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2018, he clearly feels scorned by the organization.
With training camp quickly approaching, Mayfield has yet to receive his requested trade. If he doesn’t get his wish before the start of the 2022 season, it appears the Browns will be forced to dig further down their QB depth chart.
If Watson is suspended and Mayfield continues his holdout as expected, Jacoby Brissett would likely start the season for the Browns.