Getty Images Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The few NFL teams still in the market for Baker Mayfield have been playing hardball, hoping to push the Cleveland Browns into giving up the quarterback and assuming the lion’s share of his 2022 salary to boot.
So far, Cleveland has been adamant that it will not bankroll a competitor’s QB next season. As a result, the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers have ostensibly withdrawn from conversations about a deal for the signal caller, leaving Mayfield a man without a team and the Browns a team without a trade partner.
The Panthers dropped out of discussions during the middle of the NFL Draft after asking the Browns to put up between $13-$14 million of Mayfield’s nearly $19 million guaranteed paycheck next season, per Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer. What Carolina was willing to offer Cleveland in exchange for Mayfield was never publicly disclosed, though a mid-round draft pick would have been the most likely return.
After the Browns declined the Panthers’ proposal, Carolina traded up into the third round and selected QB Matt Corral out of Ole Miss University. That move does not necessarily disqualify the team from future interest in Mayfield, but it makes the need for him less urgent and the Panthers’ bargaining position stronger in any future conversations.
As for Seattle, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on Sunday, May 29, that the Seahawks would be interested in acquiring Mayfield by another path separate from a trade.
“One source told Cleveland.com that the Seahawks, who have Geno Smith and Drew Lock on their roster, would sign Mayfield if the Browns cut him,” Cabot wrote.
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Seahawks Tipped Hand by Confirming Interest in Mayfield Via Free Agency
GettyQuarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns reacts on the sideline during the first half of a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 29, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The development of consequence Sunday was not that the Seahawks are willing to acquire Mayfield through free agency. If the Browns weren’t willing to pay the Panthers $14 million to get the QB out of their hair, Cleveland certainly isn’t going to pay Mayfield $5 million more than that just so some other franchise can sign him at a minimal cost.
What matters is that Seattle — which for much of the offseason has downplayed its interest in Mayfield, or any veteran quarterback for that matter — showed their whole cards when confirming that the team has any interest in Mayfield at all.
The Seahawks have arguably the worst QB room in all of the NFL, aside from perhaps the Panthers. Smith was a failed starter with the New York Jets and has bounced around the league ever since. Lock couldn’t hold his job with the Denver Broncos and was tossed into the trade for perennial Pro-Bowler Russell Wilson as an afterthought.
Mayfield is guaranteed no money beyond 2022. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are coming off of a last place finish in the NFC West Division and are likely to suffer a repeat performance if they can’t find a serviceable signal caller before the start of the regular season.
Seattle won’t acquire Mayfield by way of free agency, but their stated interest in him means that the re-opening of trade discussions remains a viable possibility over the next few months.
Mayfield Could Work Out Deal With Browns to Remain on Team, But Apart From Teammates
Getty ImagesQuarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
Cabot confirmed Sunday that the Browns currently have zero interest in simply releasing Mayfield and letting him go on his way.
“If the Panthers and Seahawks are waiting for the Browns to cut Baker Mayfield so they can get him on the cheap, they better not hold their breath,” she wrote. “The Browns have no plans to cut Mayfield, even if he’s still on the roster at the start of training camp in July, a league source tells Cleveland.com.”
Cleveland and the QB are nearing an impasse on June 14, when mandatory minicamp opens and Mayfield’s absence from team activities will begin to cost him money. He doesn’t want to be there, but isn’t likely to sacrifice any of his promised paycheck in the name of avoiding awkwardness or discomfort. The Browns don’t want him there — or the tension and media circus that would surround his presence — but can’t stop him from showing up if they haven’t cut or traded him by then.
Cabot suggested that the Browns may be able to find a workaround by allowing Mayfield to work out at team facilities while keeping him largely separated from his teammates as well as the day-in and day-out activities.
A source told Cleveland.com last week that no decision has been made yet on whether or not Mayfield will attend Browns mandatory minicamp if he’s still on the team. If he skips, it will cost him about $95,000 for the three days.
But the Browns and Mayfield’s camp can work together on a plan that works for both sides if he’s still [there] for the start of training camp in late July. One strategy would be for Mayfield to work out at the Browns facility, but mostly on his own and not alongside Deshaun Watson and Jacoby Brissett.
While not an ideal situation for either party, the solution has merit and is probably the most likely outcome as the Browns continue their staring contest with the Seahawks and the Panthers — both of which still appear heavily in the mix to make a potential trade for Mayfield at some point down the road.