Cleveland Browns fans immediately heaped boos on the team during their 33-17 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener on Sunday. One of those fans felt he needed to let off more steam and chose The Ken Carman Show the following day on 92.3 The Fan, Cleveland’s sports radio station.
Radio host Ken Carman, who was on the morning segment discussing quarterback Deshaun Watson’s form, took the fan’s call. The phone conversation quickly turned ugly when Carman realized what the fan was trying to say on the air.
“Two numbers, you’ll figure it out,” said the fan. “42.9. 144.”
“What is all this?” asked Carman.
“Watson’s quarterback rating, (Baker) Mayfield’s quarterback rating.”
Carman lost his composure and immediately started yelling at the fan.
“Oh God,” Carman said. “I can’t do this one second longer. No! That’s enough! That’s enough! … Guys, I’m not doing this right out of the box. Can I have a little time before we do this? Can I have a little time? He’s not coming home, he’s not coming back! … I can’t reverse the deal. I can’t reverse it!”
The first call to Cleveland Sports Talk Radio this morning pic.twitter.com/Ef9dln5MjX
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) 9 September 2024
In the globally acclaimed trade, the Browns traded six draft picks – including three first-rounders – to the Houston Texans for Watson before signing the quarterback to a then-unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract in 2022. Watson’s five-year, $230 million deal has aged pretty poorly over the past two years, leading many to wonder what would have happened if Cleveland had simply reconciled with Baker Mayfield instead.
Since 2022, Mayfield has outperformed Watson across the board: The current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback has averaged 6,496 passing yards to Watson’s 2,386, 44 touchdowns to Watson’s 11, averaged a QB rating of 90.9 to Watson’s 78.1, and helped lead the Bucs to the divisional round of the playoffs last year.
The script appears to be in Mayfield’s favor for the foreseeable future, as the 29-year-old veteran threw for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns en route to Tampa Bay’s thrilling Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders. Watson, on the other hand, plodded along and delivered another forgettable performance for the Browns, completing 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards and scoring a touchdown against two interceptions in Sunday’s loss.
