Baker Mayfield does not want to play for the Cleveland Browns. The Cleveland Browns don’t want him there either. This is all the result of a very public divorce in which the Browns reportedly decided they wanted “an adult” at quarterback and then traded for a guy who was, at the time, facing 22 civil lawsuits (now reportedly 26) for sexual misconduct.
Like any messy uncoupling, there’s no easy way out. Mayfield played hurt last season and tanked his value to quarterback-needy teams — of which there are only a couple this summer. Cleveland, by virtue of dealing for Deshaun Watson, signing Jacoby Brissett and excusing Mayfield from offseason practices, has made it very clear he isn’t part of the team’s future. The most logical conclusion to this story sees the Browns selling at a loss: either taking whatever deal they can get for the former top overall pick or cutting him outright to end whatever tension remains between the player and his team.
This is not what the Cleveland Browns want to do.
As minicamps begin today for the Browns and Panthers, trade talks between the teams continue surrounding QB Baker Mayfield, per sources. The main issue remains Mayfield's salary and how much (or how little) teams pay.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) June 14, 2022
Per CBS’s Jonathan Jones, the trade talks that emerged during the Draft between Cleveland and Carolina have flared back up as minicamps roll on. The Browns would like to offload some of Mayfield’s guaranteed $18.8 million this season in order to create the cap space to continue fleshing out their roster.
Unfortunately for all parties involved, the Panthers already have Sam Darnold under contract for the same number in 2022. They would prefer not to dedicate up to $37 million to two quarterbacks who had 26 interceptions between them last fall — especially if they can wait out the market and sign Mayfield as a free agent should he be released.
Coincidentally, neither team is in desperate need of cap space at the moment. No franchise in the league has more spending room than Cleveland’s estimated $42 million, per Over the Cap. Carolina is in second place with $25 million. Either side could absorb Mayfield’s salary, but both are unwilling at the moment because:
a) the Browns biffed this one so hard they need to get *something* out of casting Mayfield away, even though a final, healthy season where he plays in place of a suspended Watson and restores his value as a quarterback would work best for both sides (this is, given the tenor of the offseason, a near uncertainty).
b) the Panthers have some urgency to make a move in what could be Matt Rhule’s final season as head coach, but also just hired a new general manager in 2021. Scott Fitterer would like to keep new(ish) owner David Tepper on his good side, which could include taking a write-off year in 2022 to restock the cupboard rather than spending more than $20 million on the saddest guys from the 2018 Draft, Josh Rosen excluded.
There’s one scenario here where the Browns get what they want, and it’s if a preseason injury leaves an erstwhile contender without a starting quarterback for an extended stretch. It’s unlikely, but it’s also how Jay Cutler finished his career earning $10 million to be the world’s least-interested wildcat wide receiver:
Cutler really selling his role in the Wildcat at the bottom of the screen pic.twitter.com/WgHxXvxlHL
— Mike Tunison (@xmasape) October 1, 2017
Except that’s a problem as well, because Mayfield isn’t the only quarterback who would be on the market at that point.
The 49ers could easily part with Jimmy Garoppolo, who is in the final year of his contract and has taken his team to the NFC title game in two of the last three seasons. At $25.5 million, his 2022 salary isn’t egregiously more expensive to acquire if the Niners are willing to absorb a decent chunk of it — and given San Francisco’s lack of draft capital after dealing three first-round picks for the chance to select Trey Lance, general manager John Lynch would likely be happy to take a cap sheet hit this fall in order to secure assets for the future.
Jones notes there’s some urgency from Carolina to get Mayfield on the field before minicamp wraps up, but that’s not an especially pressing concern. If Fitterer and the Panthers truly believe Mayfield was the answer, they would have made a deal by now. Instead, the Browns appear to be playing poker with all their cards facing the wrong way and continue to bluff.
That’s why a deal that makes a ton of sense — Carolina Panther Baker Mayfield — doesn’t currently make much sense. Cleveland’s asking price has been too high for the Panthers for months now. There’s no way for him to be that valuable unless circumstances outside the Browns’ control take effect.
Mayfield is going to have the same limited trade value in August and September as he does in June unless someone else gets hurt (a la Ryan Tannehill in 2017) or there’s a shocking retirement (a la Andrew Luck in 2019). And even then, it’s only going to move the needle slightly!
That leaves Cleveland and Mayfield in purgatory. The Browns are holding onto a depreciating asset hoping for outside forces to create a bubble. The Panthers know this and understand the odds are in their favor when it comes to acquiring their newest quarterback with a minimal investment. But there’s no real penalty to keeping Mayfield on the roster for now. Cleveland can continue to dangle Mayfield and hope for catastrophe to strike elsewhere because, well, it’s not like the team can damage the relationship with its soon-to-be ex-quarterback any harder.
That’s the state of the Browns. Their haggling for a few extra dollars at their garage sale over a broken toy when the most likely outcome is donating it to Goodwill. But when you’ve got nothing to lose there’s no real downside to waiting for someone desperate to drive by — even if it means looking foolish in the process.
