"He's not that QB who elevates the guys around him or carries an underperforming team to a gritty win."
That statement says it all. If he can't do those things, he is not a "franchise " QB. Those are qualities of a good back up, and at this point, that is where I see his future.
He did that in the game where he took his very first NFL snap...on a team that was 1-31 / 4-44 the seasons before he got there...won (6) more games that very year...on a trash team...that won (4) games IN THREE YEARS before he got there. Two years later he grits us onto the playoffs and wins a game...on the road...without his "Star" WR.
The "guys around him" him are/were hardly weapons. At the start of the 2022 season the following weapons from 2021 either won't be on the team because he never wanted to be there in the first place...likely won't be on the team due to $$$ and will STILL be on the team in spite of $$$: OBJ...Landry...Hooper. Njoku is all but taking his potential elsewhere.
Who CAN elevate a 6th Rd project WR...a track star...and a slot WR who has been dinged up most of the year?
Next up: Baker has to have everything around him be perfect for him to succeed. I'm curious as to exactly when everything was perfect.
I've said it earlier in this thread...and will paraphrase here...it's simply time to move on from him. The team cannot succeed with such a polarizing figure who isn't having enough success. The reasons really don't matter anymore.
