NFL Rumors: Insider shuts down idea teams aren’t trading for Baker Mayfield in retaliation over Deshaun Watson contract
Baker Mayfield’s presence on social media, and in the media in general, has kept everyone in the football world guessing at what his future in football may be. Throughout free agency and the 2022 NFL draft, the disgruntled quarterback has yet to move away from the Cleveland Browns, despite his wishes to be traded out of town.
The situation between the Browns and the quarterback appears to be beyond repair, but there has been no significant effort from Cleveland to trade the player.
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Cleveland Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot is a beat writer for Cleveland.com and had this to say about Mayfield's situation in a recent article.
"The narrative that the Browns are stuck with Mayfield because teams don’t want to do business with them in the wake of their NFL-record fully guaranteed $230 million contract for Deshaun Watson is off base."
He went on to say:
"The reason he is still on the roster is because of his $18.86 million salary and not because teams are stonewalling the Browns following the richest and first fully guaranteed contract in NFL history."
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He expanded on his point:
"Teams don’t want to pick up his contract, hoping he will be cut and they can get him on the cheap. Mayfield drew interest from a handful of franchises, and the Browns engaged in trade talks with the Panthers throughout the weekend."
He concluded:
"The notion that a team would eschew a QB upgrade just to punish the Browns makes no sense, and the events of last weekend debunk it."
Baker Mayfield may be cut before he's traded
There’s still no clear landing spot for the former first-overall pick and Cabot makes some great points. Teams in the NFL are in the business of winning games. If a team thought they could do that with him under center, they would have brought him in to take the place of the starter on the roster. An example of this is Deshaun Watson. It was uncertain last year if his legal issues would prevent him from finding a new franchise, now he has the largest guaranteed contract in the NFL.
The several interested franchises are more likely being patient than punitive. It’s a chess game at this point and it's more about leverage and bargaining. At least a couple of these teams would snatch Mayfield up were he to be cut by the Browns, and they wouldn’t have to pay the remainder of the money due to him on his current contract.
Cleveland finished 8-9 last season, a disappointment for a team that some had considered potential Super Bowl contenders. They will be looking to move forward and win the AFC North and make a deep playoff run. A disruptive influence on the training field is the last thing they need going into the 2022 season.
Will he remain at the Browns for the start of the season? We will just have to wait and see how the situation unfolds.