"There's not going to be a market for Baker Mayfield" - Colin Cowherd explains why QB's prospects of playing in 2022 are bleak
Despite his wishes to go elsewhere, Baker Mayfield is still a member of the Cleveland Browns. With the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and Atlanta Falcons passing on the outspoken quarterback in favor of other options, Mayfield may be stuck with the Browns as a backup to Deshaun Watson.
With nearly every team in the NFL set at the quarterback position or biding their time until next year’s draft, Mayfield’s options for the 2022 season seem bleak. On his Fox Sports radio podcast, The Herd, Colin Cowherd commented on Mayfield’s chances of playing this year.
“There's not going to be a market for Baker Mayfield. Remember next year's quarterback class is great. It is six guys the over under on first round quarterbacks next year... six and a half. There's three, I love three, I'll wait and see."
Cowherd also speculated which teams are holding out for the 2023 draft.
"But there's a lot of teams, for instance, Houston, Atlanta, Seattle are positioning themselves for the next draft. So let's look at the entire NFL landscape. All the teams, I would argue 26 teams have a quarterback that they view as the franchise guy or 'he's our guy' for a couple of years. That would include Matt Ryan and Carson Wentz."
Cowherd then mentioned Tua Tagovailoa and his new offensive weapons in Miami:
"That's virtually the entire league again. Tua, they're not moving off Tua... So that team's out. And I think Tua is going to have some success with those offensive pieces. So Miami's decision is going to be at the end of the year [that] Tua is actually pretty darn good. So that leaves the Texans, the Giants, the Seahawks, the saints, the Falcons and the Panthers."
Cowherd was heading to a simple conclusion with his opinions: Mayfield, it seems, is running out of options.
"But as I just said, I think Seattle, Houston and Atlanta are going to ride with their guys. And they're positioning themselves. For next year. The owners are comfortable with it.”
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Baker Mayfield may sit out before playing backup to Deshaun Watson
Mayfield could very well find himself on the Browns roster with a shot at a starting role because of a possible suspension for Deshaun Watson, who is facing 22 lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct and sexual assault.
But would Mayfield be willing to play for the team that publicly hurt his feelings?
Mayfield may sit out for the season if a trade doesn’t happen to take his chances next year. But as Cowherd pointed out, there would likely be even less chance of the jilted quarterback finding a roster spot.