CLEVELAND – For all their drafting mistakes and missteps over the past two decades, the Browns got it right in 2018.
On Friday, the team exercised the fifth-year contract options on quarterback Baker Mayfield and cornerback Denzel Ward, the respective Nos.
1 and 4 overall picks three years ago who have become integral to Cleveland's new-found success. Mayfield bounced back from a shaky 2019 season to threw 30 touchdown passes last season while leading the Browns to an 11-5 regular-season record, their first playoff appearance since the 2002 season and their first postseason win since 1994 — a wild-card victory over rival Pittsburgh.