As Baker Mayfield resurrected his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became a franchise quarterback, the Cleveland Browns have been lambasted by fans and media alike for their decision to let Mayfield walk in order to go all-in on Deshaun Watson.
Watson has spent much of his time in Cleveland on injured reserve or playing like one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. Meanwhile, Mayfield has led the Buccaneers to two division titles and a playoff win, while the Browns became a laughingstock for how they mismanaged the quarterback situation.
But now in 2026, the needle is suddenly moving in Cleveland’s favor, and Deshaun Watson and the Browns could get the last laugh over Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers.
Deshaun Watson and the Browns have flipped the script on Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers
So far this season, the Browns are 3-1, while the Buccaneers are 0-3. All three of Cleveland’s wins have come complete with a game-winning fourth quarter drive by Watson.
That includes a win over the Buccaneers in Week 2. Mayfield had repeatedly said leading up to the game that he wanted to beat Cleveland and had that matchup circled on his calendar. He walked away with some egg on his face after turning in a disappointing performance in a 23-19 loss.
Watson is enjoying something of a renaissance and is on pace for one of the best seasons of his career. The Browns quarterback is completing 69.6% of his passes for 855 yards, 6 touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s a 17 game pace of 3,634 yards, 26 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
Mayfield, meanwhile, is completing 63.5% of his passes for 615 yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown and two interceptions. That’s a 17-game pace of 3,485 yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
As lousy as those stats already look, it’s important to mention that Mayfield also has three lost fumbles, all coming in Week 1 when his turnovers single-handedly cost the Buccaneers a win in the season opener.
To make matters worse, Mayfield is expected to miss at least three games with a dislocated thumb, leaving the 0-3 Buccaneers without their starting quarterback as they desperately try to turn their season around.
Baker Mayfield could replace Deshaun Watson as NFL’s worst contract
The Browns caught a lot of flak for not only trading for Watson in a package that included three first-round picks, but for giving him a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Entering this season, Watson had played in just 19 out of a possible 51 games over the last three seasons and posted a 9-10 record. The contract was proving to be a massive overpay and one of the worst front office decisions in recent NFL history.
Meanwhile, Mayfield was proving to be a huge bargain through three years, playing his first year on a one-year, $4 million contract before signing a reasonable three-year, $100 million extension. He played in all 51 games and led the Bucs to a 27-24 record.
Watson and Mayfield’s contracts were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
But this offseason, the Buccaneers signed Mayfield to a three-year, $165 million extension. He’s one of only eight players in the NFL earning at least $55 million annually.
After years of Cleveland being ridiculed for choosing Watson over Mayfield, the tide could finally be turning. It’s a small sample size, but so far in 2026, the Browns have the better quarterback – and the cheaper one too.
The verdict is still out on Baker Mayfield vs. Deshaun Watson
That being said, it would be a mistake to let a quarter of the 2026 season completely rewrite the story of what has happened since Mayfield and the Browns went their separate ways.
The scales may be tipping toward Cleveland right now, but Mayfield has still been the more productive quarterback by a significant margin for the vast majority of the time since the two sides split.
Mayfield has spent the past three seasons establishing himself as a legitimate franchise quarterback in Tampa Bay.
Watson, meanwhile, has only now begun to give Cleveland a glimpse of the quarterback they thought they were getting when they traded for him.
There’s also an unavoidable part of this comparison that extends beyond what either quarterback has done on the field. Many fans would take a terrible season from Mayfield over having Watson as their quarterback any day of the week, and that’s part of this conversation that numbers can’t capture.
So yes, Cleveland has a legitimate argument right now. Watson is clearly outplaying Mayfield and has his Browns at 3-1 compared to the Bucs at 0-3, and Mayfield’s massive new contract didn’t even take a month to start aging poorly.
For years, the Browns were the punchline of the Mayfield-Watson saga. In 2026, at least for the moment, the narrative has finally started to shift in Cleveland's favor. But the season is far from over and the verdict is far from decided. One thing we've learned over the course of his career is that Mayfield is the last person who should be counted out.
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