Will the Cleveland Browns Always Be Doomed to Mediocrity?

It has to be hard being a Cleveland Browns fan. A franchise that has been through so much between a rebrand and a return and years and years of torture, fans have had it pretty bad. They’ve never had a winning tradition, and unlike the Cavaliers, they may never win their championship and it’s their own front office’s fault.

Take, for instance, Cam Newton ending up with the New England Patriots. Where were the Cleveland Browns when it came to spending for his services? It wasn’t long ago that they threw money at every free agent with a pulse to now not even attempting a run at a former MVP and Super Bowl QB?

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The Browns haven’t had a quarterback of Newton’s caliber in so long, if ever. New England flies under the radar and snags him on a team-friendly $7.5 million deal and the Cleveland Browns are riding out with Baker Mayfield. No disrespect intended, but Baker could use a guy like Cam Newton to mentor his progress. His arrogant and erratic style might look cool on paper but until it transitions into wins, it’s just signing them up for a future top 5 pick.

Imagine an offense with Cam Newton/Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Austin Hooper, and David Njoku. That sounds like something you’d put together playing Madden, not an NFL team. With a reported $39 million in cap space available, why were the Browns not throwing money Cam’s way? Even if they think Baker Mayfield can be their franchise QB of the future, a $10 million dollar outbid could’ve stolen him from the Pats. Even if he didn’t start, the insurance policy to push him to his draft potential seems like a wise investment.

To paraphrase the beloved Peanuts cartoons “Out of all the Charlie Browns in the world, the Cleveland Browns are the Charlie Brown-iest”. This franchise will never have their heads on straight. Cam Newton would have taken the insignificant Browns and instantly thrust them into the spotlight. Until this front office starts making football moves and not just business decisions, their fans will always be doomed to life under a paper bag mask.