Report: Browns to move Baker Mayfield soon, will have to take on part of contract
The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday and will last three days. During that period, there is a very good chance that Baker Mayfield could be traded, according to a report.
“The feeling around the league is that Baker Mayfield will be traded on the second or third day of the draft,” said Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network.
That isn’t the only interesting part of the report, there is a very good chance that the Browns will have to eat some of the money. Mayfield is playing on a fifth-year option, which is nearly $19 million. Cleveland will have to pay some of that money, essentially buying a draft pick from wherever Mayfield is traded.
“The Browns will have to pay a large portion of Mayfield’s contract in 2022 after they trade him.”
Cleveland very well could be paying Mayfield north of half of that contract to play elsewhere next season. The most realistic spots remain the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers — two teams that have been rumored since Cleveland acquired Deshaun Watson.
“If the Seahawks trade back into the bottom part of Round 1 for a signal-caller, as I mentioned Friday, they’ll be out of the Mayfield sweepstakes,” said Pauline.
Round two and three of the draft will be held this coming Friday. That is where it will be interesting to watch and see if the Browns will move Mayfield to another team that day.
Mayfield’s time in Northeast Ohio could be coming to an end very soon.
Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter as well here.
