There isn’t a starting quarterback in the AFC North that isn’t facing an enormous amount of pressure entering the 2020 season. For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger, it’s about showing that he is still capable of playing. Joe Burrow is the first-overall pick for the Cincinnati Bengals, who released their nine-year veteran starter to give him the opportunity to start immediately. Lamar Jackson is coming off an MVP season, and yet there’s so much more for him to prove.
And then there’s Baker Mayfield, who is basically Joe Burrow two years into the future as a former first-overall pick taken to change the fortunes of a failing franchise.