[DJ's left nut]

Baker doesn't necessarily look like he's taken a massive step forward as much as he looks like the guy he was in Cleveland before he got hurt and they threw him under the bus.

I still think they did him dirty as hell out there.

From 2018 to 2020 he looked like a developing high-variance quarterback who could routinely be a playoff QB and maybe, when fully developed, have a year here and there where those variances are just under the surface for 3 games in the post-season and he does some real damage.

Then 2021 happened and he got hurt. He tried to play through a bum wing and couldn't meanwhile OBJ blamed him for everything under the sun and the franchise went ahead and said "yeah - that checks out; this guy's a bum..."

I never understood that. Suddenly I found myself cheering for the guy and hoping he'd recover.

In TB he looks to be right back on the development arc his first 3 seasons would've suggested he could take. Granted, he's 2 years behind because 21 and 22 were wasted seasons. But 28 yrs old he looks like a young, high pedigree, kindof exciting quarterback who has been developing slowly but surely if you remove those 2 years in the wilderness.

The guy may have 6-8 years at/near his prime left. TB may have fallen backwards into a real long-term asset here. The 2020 version of Baker Mayfield was a small step forward from being a 30 TD, 10 int, 4K yard passer.

That's damn near identical to a year that got Geno some MVP votes. It's better than what Rodgers did last year and I don't think it's appreciably worse than what Tua might reasonable be expected to do.

Derek Carr got PAID being worse than that.

Baker still has a shot and I'm pulling for him.