Getty Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.
This past Monday night we bore witness to what may very well prove to be Ben Roethlisberger’s final game at Heinz Field. However, he wasn’t the only quarterback in action that night who could be headed for a change in scenery.
Baker Mayfield hobbled his way to a lackluster 185 yard, two-touchdown, two-interception outing in the Cleveland Browns‘ 26-14 loss to Pittsburgh. The former No. 1 overall pick was sacked nine times on the night and at one point threw 10 consecutive incompletions — the most by any quarterback this season. With the 7-9 Browns’ playoff hopes officially dead, Mayfield confirmed to reporters on January 4 that he’d be immediately undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder. The surgery will prematurely end his 2021 campaign and quite possibly his tenure in Cleveland as a whole.
If that proves to be the case, NFL insider Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports believes that a move to East Rutherford could be in the playing cards for Mayfield, naming the New York Giants as a potential landing spot for the fourth-year signal-caller.
“Both Joe Judge and Daniel Jones are apparently set to return, but why on Earth should that stop them from investing more under center, considering the lifeless way they’re finishing?” Benjamin questioned. “Mayfield would bring personality to a market desperately lacking in NFL juice right now, and he’s got the old-school approach Judge would appreciate.”
More Hype for Mayfield to New York
Benjamin isn’t the only one floating Mayfield taking his talents to the NFC East. ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser is also keen on the idea of the 26-year-old jettisoning Cleveland this offseason, naming the Giants among a handful of potential suitors during a recent segment on “Pardon The Interruption.”
“I think he’d be better off someplace else than Cleveland,” Kornheiser proclaimed on January 4. “Cleveland is overhyped as much as any team in the league except Dallas and their results are less than Dallas. Baker Mayfield has shown flashes but he never burned, he never burned. I suspect they’re going to keep him. If I were the Giants I might want him. Washington, Carolina, Houston, there’s a lot of teams out there.”
The latest Giants news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Giants newsletter here!
Sign up for the Heavy on Giants Newsletter!
Mayfield’s Current Outlook in Cleveland & Fit in New York
It’s worth noting that Mayfield does remain under contract with the Browns through 2022. The team exercised his fifth-year option (worth $18.9 million) back in April after the former Heisman winner was coming off a career campaign in 2020. That season, Mayfield led Cleveland to their first postseason appearance since 2002, throwing for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. However, his production took a sizeable dip this season, tossing five more interceptions and seeing his quarterback rating dip by nearly 13%.
As Benjamin noted, should Cleveland seek to trade or release Mayfield this offseason, they can do so without any penalty, highlighting that “recent offseasons have proven that big-name QB swaps are increasingly on the table.”
It’s become pretty evident over his career that Mayfield is not the type of talent to shoulder a roster. With that said, in the right situation he’s proven to be a capable to above-average quarterback. The problem here is that the situation in New York is not only bad, it is horrifically awful. Could Mayfield propel the team a bit further than Daniel Jones can? It’s certainly possible. However, if the Giants ultimately oppose swinging for a superstar signal-caller such as Russell Wilson this offseason, they’re going to need to dramatically revamp their roster if they think they can get by with a second-tier quarterback under center.