The highly anticipated Baker Mayfield-OBJ duo never really came to fruition. Apparently, their lack of on-field connection was evident right from the get-go.
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Yesterday, the Cleveland Browns finally released star WR Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ’s release felt imminent ever since his father posted a video of Baker Mayfield missing throws to his son on social media, and the statement from Browns GM Andrew Berry confirmed it.
“After careful consideration, internal discussions and conversations with Odell and his representation, we’ve determined that it is in the best interest of all parties involved that Odell no longer play for the Cleveland Browns,” Berry said.
“We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we’ve just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell. We are finalizing the process of granting Odell his release and we wish him well as he continues his career.”
Baker Mayfield and OBJ Always Struggled to Develop Chemistry
In his 29 games with the team, OBJ racked up 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns. Obviously, these aren’t great numbers for someone who is supposed to be a marquee player.
A big reason why he put up such lackluster stats was his relationship with QB Baker Mayfield. It became normal to see Mayfield and OBJ on completely different wavelengths at times, which led to a ton of embarrassing missed passes.
Apparently, they always struggled to refine their chemistry on the field despite being good friends off of it. During OBJ’s first training camp in Cleveland, Mayfield scrambled out after a busted play.
However, none of his receivers did him any favors by making a move to get open. “Work the f*cking scramble drill!”, he yelled at OBJ as he spiked the ball in frustration.
“Once we get on the same page,” Beckham Jr. said after the misunderstanding, “it’s gonna be scary.” Maybe it would have been, but they never managed to consistently be “on the same page”.
According to ESPN, Mayfield either under-threw or overthrew 27% of his passes to OBJ. This was the 3rd highest since 2019 amongst 62 different QB-receiver combos. Not exactly what the team or fans expected from their two supposed star players.
Needless to say, OBJ’s departure from Cleveland was a result of many factors, but in hindsight, that moment from their first training camp together beautifully foreshadowed exactly what was yet to come.
