Getty Images Quarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
It’s likely that Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield finds a new home via trade during this week’s NFL draft via trade, and the Seattle Seahawks are believed to be a lock to land the former top pick.
Marc Sessler of NFL Network tweeted his 10 locks for the draft, one of which is the Browns shipping Mayfield to the Seahawks for a fourth-round pick. It would be a decent return for the Browns, although they’d likely end up eating some of Mayfield’s near $19 million salary in the deal.
The most anticipated moment of draft season is finally here 👀
It’s @MarcSessler’s annual Mock Draft! And introducing a new element, 10 LOCKS 🔒
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The Seahawks have been one of the more prominent teams rumored to be in the Mayfield sweepstakes, although Seattle has been patient because the Browns hold little to no leverage in such a small quarterback market.
Mayfield’s four-year tenure in Cleveland has been a mixed bag. After setting the rookie touchdown record in 2018 and leading the team to their first postseason berth in nearly two decades in 2020, Mayfield tossed just 17 touchdowns to 13 interceptions last season, slumping down the stretch as the team finished 8-9.
Mayfield acknowledged that last year was tough for him as he battled through injury, poor play and a heaping helping of criticism.
“I had great times my rookie year. I didn’t start in the beginning. I came in and had fun in the back half of the year. 2019 sucked. 2020 was great, made the playoffs. 2021 was miserable. I’m just looking for stabilization right now,” Mayfield said on the April 13 episode of “Ya Neva Know: you know what i mean?” podcast.
Seahawks Not Eager to Trade for Mayfield: Report
Earlier this week, CBS Sports reporter Josina Anderson poured some cold water on the Mayfield to Seattle rumors.
“Spoke to a league source on Baker Mayfield,” Anderson tweeted on April 26. “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.”
After moving on from Russell Wilson, the Seahawks are relying on former first-round pick Drew Lock, veteran Geno Smith and former Colts backup Jacob Eason. Head coach Pete Carroll made it clear earlier this offseason that the team would investigate other options to beef up the QB room.
“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.”
Panthers Another Prime Landing Spot for Mayfield?
Another team that has been in the mix for Mayfield is the Panthers, who currently have quarterbacks Sam Darnold and PJ Walker on their roster. Carolina holds the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, but the team could go in a variety of directions with that pick.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has the Panthers taking offensive tackle Charles Cross from Mississippi State, while ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Carolina taking offensive tackle Evan Neal from Alabama.
If the Panthers decide to not pick a quarterback, the chances they deal for Mayfield increases. The Panthers informed Darnold that there was a good chance they’d add a quarterback by the end of the weekend.
“In our conversation I said, ‘Hey, we are going to add to this [quarterback] group through this weekend, there’s a pretty good chance we could add to this group,'” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said April 23 during a pre-draft press conference. “It’s open competition. It’s his spot right now, but whoever can take the spot and run with it, we’re going to do that.”