Getty Images Quarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
The Seattle Seahawks have been a long-rumored destination for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield but the NFC West squad is not making a hard push to get a deal done.
Josina Anderson reported on Tuesday morning that the Seahawks are not “overly eager” to bring in the former top pick, with the sticking point being his hefty near $19 million salary and the fact that the Browns have little to no leverage.
“Spoke to a league source on Baker Mayfield,” Anderson tweeted. “At this time, the Seahawks still don’t sound overly eager on dealing for the Browns quarterback and his salary at that price in a situation where they feel Cleveland has to eventually move him. Still worth monitoring.”
Spoke to a league source on Baker Mayfield. At this time, the #Seahawks still don’t sound overly eager on dealing for the #Browns quarterback &* his salary at that price in a situation where they feel Cleveland has to eventually move him. Still worth monitoring.
@BovadaOfficial
After moving on from Russell Wilson, the Seahawks have former first-round pick Drew Lock, veteran Geno Smith and former Colts backup Jacob Eason on their quarterback depth chart. The team has said they feel comfortable with that duo, although head coach Pete Carroll did hint that they’d be looking at other options earlier this offseason.
“We are totally in the mentality that the fourth guy may be important to us for the long haul,” Carroll said in March. “So we are definitely still in the quarterback business. There are some veterans out there to be had. There are still some guys out there. Yeah, we are still looking.”
Baker Mayfield Likely to be Moved During the NFL Draft
There’s always a lot of misinformation around the draft, so the fact that reports are coming out that the Seahawks may not be overly interested in Mayfield is no surprise.
Quarterback-needy teams are expected to make a push for Mayfield during the first three rounds of the NFL Draft this week. The Panthers have the No. 6 pick and want to see how things fall before they make a move for Mayfield. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said that Carolina likely won’t make a trade for Mayfield before the first round.
“The Panthers are not expected to trade for Browns QB Baker Mayfield prior to the first round of the NFL Draft, sources say, if they do it at all,” Rapoport tweeted. “Thursday has to play out first, before any other options are considered.”
Baker Mayfield Felt Disrespected by Browns
The situation with Mayfield unfolded quickly, with the Browns landing Deshaun Watson as their quarterback of the future via trade, locking him up with a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Mayfield had remained fairly quiet on the situation but said on the April 13 episode of “YNK: you know what I mean?,” that he felt disrespected by the franchise that took him No. 1 overall in the 2018 draft.
“I have no regrets of my time in Cleveland, of what I tried to give to that place,” Mayfield said. “The respect thing is all going to be a personal opinion. I feel disrespected, 100%. I was told one thing, and they completely did another.
“That’s what I’m in the middle of right now. And you know what? I got my taste of it because I’ve had four different head coaches in four years. 2021 was miserable – bunch of different coordinators. I’m just looking for stabilization right now.”
The Browns’ brass disputed that, saying that they were transparent with him during the process, despite saying publicly that Mayfield would be the QB.
“We were very transparent with his reps,” Berry told reporters during a pre-draft press conference April 22. “We can all understand how Baker feels. … Baker is a competitive and driven young man. he’s had success as a quarterback and will continue to have success as a quarterback.”