Getty Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns have yet to find a trade partner for disgruntled quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are said to be watching the situation very closely.
If the Browns fail to trade Mayfield, they could resort to cutting him and eating the cap consequences, which would be to the Steelers’ delight, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. Pittsburgh would be quick to “pounce” on Mayfield if he were to hit the open market, she said on the March 21 episode of “The Orange and Brown Talk.”
“I knew as of Thursday that the phone was not ringing off the hook for Baker Mayfield and this would get a little challenging,” Cabot said. “The Steelers will pounce on Baker Mayfield if he becomes available — like if [the Browns] cut him — and he’s just out there. They would take him in a minute and I’m sure a lot of people would if you could get him for nothing and the Browns have to eat that money.”
Cabot also referenced the Steelers’ interest in Mayfield in a March 21 story.
“One NFL personnel exec guessed that the Steelers would grab Mayfield if the Browns cut him, but the Browns will make every effort to trade him,” Cabot wrote.
The Steelers have quarterbacks Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins and newly signed free agent Mitch Trubisky on the roster.
The Browns, who acquired quarterback Deshaun Watson in a March 20 trade with the Houston Texans, will make every effort to trade Mayfield to get his nearly $19 million salary off of the books, although that could result in the team having to include a draft pick or eating a portion of his salary.
Seahawks Appear to Be Most Likely Landing Spot for Mayfield
As Cabot mentioned, the market for Mayfield has not been hot and is getting cooler by the day. Mayfield expressed interest in joining the Indianapolis Colts, but they filled their quarterback spot with a March 21 trade for Matt Ryan.
The Seattle Seahawks have been circled as the lone team left in the mix, although the Detroit Lions have been considered a wild card to land Mayfield because former Browns general manager John Dorsey — who drafted Mayfield — is now the Lions’ senior personnel executive.
The Browns are in a tough spot, really holding no cards in negotiations with other teams. Mayfield wants out, the team needs his salary off of the books and the market for him has thinned significantly. At this point, the Browns may have to give up an asset or take on part of his salary to get a deal done.
“The Browns had a conversation with a team about Baker [Mayfield] and the team asked for a pick from the Browns to take Mayfield’s contract,” Adam Schefter said via a Dov Kleiman tweet on March 21. “If anyone thinks they’re going to get a high premium pick for Baker Mayfield they’re mistaken.”
Mayfield’s NFL Future Up in the Air
Mayfield, who is on the final year of his rookie deal, had expected to play out this season in hopes of earning a long-term extension.
Now it seems a real possibility that Mayfield could end up in a backup role.
Mayfield, who will turn 27 next month, played injured for most of last season, passing for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions as the Browns stumbled to 8-9, missing the postseason. In 2020, he was stellar (26 touchdowns to only eight interceptions) as he led the Browns to their first postseason win in a quarter-century.