As a Browns fan, the day they traded for Odell Beckham Jr. was like Christmas. The team that I've never seen win before in my life was going for it. Baker Mayfield was coming off a stellar rookie season and they were adding OBJ to an already explosive offense. Things were great. Until they weren't. The 2019 season was a total disaster for everyone involved, and the 2020 campaign didn't start any better after they were steamrolled by the Baltimore Ravens. Mayfield and Beckham simply have worse than no chemistry on the field together. They can't even complete simple passes, let alone operate as one of the best passing duos in the league. While most of this is probably on Mayfield's sudden lack of accuracy and skiddishness in the pocket, it's hard not to blame both parties a little bit here. Even when Baker hit Odell in the hands on Sunday against the Ravens, it resulted in a game-altering drop.
That's just the way it's been for Mayfield and Beckham since they've teamed up on the Browns. And honestly, I don't need to see anymore. It's not working and it would be best for everyone involved to go their separate ways. Beckham looked pretty damn miserable during the game on Sunday, and with the way Mayfield was missing him on routes, it's hard to blame him. Far too often the Browns offense has relied on forcing the ball to Odell with little to no results. You might say I'm overreacting to one game against one of the better defenses in the league, but this has been the case for over a year now. Both the Browns and Beckham would be foolish to think this is suddenly going to change overnight. It's simply not a good fit and it would probably be better for everyone if the Browns just ripped the band-aid off and traded Beckham.
What's funny is I was planning to write this even before Mike Francesa tweeted that he heard the Browns were trying to OBJ at the moment. As of now, I haven't heard the same about this rumor, but would anyone be surprised? There was also rumors of the Browns trading Odell around the draft, though it didn't happen. With a new regime in Cleveland, anything is on the table. Also, props to the Giants. That trade is looking pretty great from their side right now.
There's too much at stake for the Browns this season to keep ignoring some very key issues in front of them at the moment. The Browns need to figure out if Mayfield is their QB of the future and this current system with Beckham just isn't working. For whatever reason they haven't been able to click. Mayfield regressed in a big way in 2019, but some would probably argue it's partly because he was trying to force Odell the ball. That doesn't explain everything, but the connection Browns fans had hoped for when the trade happened just isn't there. In my eyes, you need to get out in front of it and just cut your loses before this really blows up in your face.
Point blank period, the Browns need to trade Odell Beckham Jr.
