Getty The Seahawks are considered one of the top potential destinations for Baker Mayfield.
The Seattle Seahawks will acquire another quarterback before the start of the season, according to one analyst.
As the Seahawks continue to go through offseason activities with Geno Smith as their starter and Drew Lock battling to potentially win the job, Seattle-area radio host Mike Salk of 710 AM Sports believes Baker Mayfield will find his way to the Seahawks.
“It seems now to me very clear – the Seahawks are going to get Baker Mayfield,” Salk said on the Thursday, June 2 edition of the “Brock and Salk Podcast.”
Why Seahawks Could Acquire Mayfield
The Seahawks have been rumored as one of the top destinations — along with the Carolina Panthers — for the Cleveland Browns quarterback. The Browns have been seeking a trade partner to take on Mayfield’s $18.9 million salary for the 2022 season since acquiring Deshaun Watson. However, teams have been unwilling to take on Mayfield’s salary.
Salk further explains why the Seahawks will acquire Mayfield, citing that it “doesn’t make sense” for the team to start Geno Smith.
“This idea that Geno Smith is going to start the season as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, it just doesn’t make any sense,” Salk said. “Not for a team that refuses to say that they’re tanking, a team that will never use the phrase rebuilding, a coach (Pete Carroll) who says that he’s going to compete every day, a team that made every effort to go out and get Deshaun Watson as soon as they gave up on Russell Wilson.”
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Seahawks Not Eager to Acquire Mayfield
While the Seahawks certainly remain open to the idea of acquiring Mayfield, it’s clearly going to have to be beneficial to Seattle in terms of the amount of Mayfield’s salary they’ll be taking on. In a worst-case scenario, the Seahawks are comfortable entering the season with Smith and Lock as their quarterbacks in a potential rebuild situation.
However, it’s also clear Seattle would be open to the idea of adding another quarterback — Mayfield, for example — if the terms are beneficial. Head coach Pete Carroll left open the idea of adding another quarterback following the conclusion of the 2022 NFL draft. At the same time, he made it clear that the Seahawks are content with their current situation — while ruling out a possible trade.
“We’re always competing,” Carroll said in May with Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM, via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “I’m not saying anything you didn’t think I was going to say, but fortunately that’s always been the way we’ve operated, and it fits again. So we’re looking. I don’t see us making a trade for anybody at all. I don’t see that happening. But we’re certainly going to continue to be open to chances to help our club, and meanwhile we’re just going to be battling and competing our tails off. There’s always possibilities, so we keep open to that.”
It’s worth mentioning that the Seahawks would sign Mayfield if he were released, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean the Seahawks will be less interested in Mayfield, but they also don’t want to pay much of the $18.86 million,” said Cabot. “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.”
However, the same report indicates that the Browns won’t cut Mayfield.
While Salk’s point is true that the Seahawks refuse to use the term “rebuilding,” Carroll is prepared to potentially sacrifice this upcoming season for a high draft pick in next year’s draft. Next year’s draft class features top quarterback prospects such as the University of Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
As Carroll mentioned during his interview, the Seahawks are always “open” to quarterback options. While Seattle could very well acquire Mayfield, the Browns are likely going to have to eat a great portion of his $18.9 million salary in order to make that happen.