Why Trading For Baker Mayfield Could Benefit Seahawks More Than Waiting For His Release
When an NFL team wants to move a former starting quarterback, they typically have enough leverage to receive at least a decent compensation package back in return.
Look no further than the past two offseasons when Carson Wentz bounced from the Eagles to the Colts and now the Commanders with multiple draft picks being exchanged for the once-promising MVP candidate. There are only so many good signal callers to go around, so if a viable starter becomes available, there's typically at least a few suitors willing to give up quality draft ammo in return.
But in the case of Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, circumstances have not worked out in the former No. 1 overall pick's favor. After the team told him he would be the starter in 2022, they turned around and traded three first round picks to the Texans for the talented, yet troubled Deshaun Watson, giving their new starter a fully-guaranteed $240 million contract.
Once that controversial deal became official, the clock was ticking to find Mayfield a new team. For a moment, the Colts looked like the front runner to acquire the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner. After trading Wentz days earlier, reports surfaced linking the player to the team as a preferred landing spot and a potential union seemed likely.
However, that opportunity quickly disappeared when Indianapolis traded a third-round pick to Atlanta for former MVP Matt Ryan just 24 hours after Watson signed his contract to come to Cleveland. With Denver already acquiring Russell Wilson in a blockbuster deal and Houston publicly giving a vote of confidence to second-year quarterback Davis Mills, Mayfield's options were suddenly limited.
Fast forwarding nearly a month later and less than two weeks until the 2022 NFL Draft, Mayfield's future remains clouded as ever. With most teams set at quarterback and the few that aren't potentially looking to draft one, the Browns have not been able to find a suitor to trade for him and take on his $18.5 million fully-guaranteed salary.
Breaking weeks of silence as a guest on the "Ya Neva Know" podcast earlier this week, Mayfield spoke candidly about feeling disrespected by how Cleveland through this process and what the future may hold for him. When asked to predict where he thought he would play in 2022, he repeated numerous times that he had "no clue" before eventually tabbing Seattle as the most likely destination.
"Oh man, if this would've been about a week and a half ago, I would've said Indianapolis," Mayfield responded. "Um... Seattle? I mean it'd probably be the most likely option. But even then, I have no idea."
Not surprisingly, after the Seahawks stunned many by finally trading Wilson, who had been the center of trade speculation for the past couple of years, Mayfield's name popped up as a popular replacement candidate. Once the Browns traded for Watson, those rumors were taken to the next level and after the Colts took themselves out of the running, they emerged as the favorite to acquire him with only Drew Lock and Jacob Eason on the depth chart.
However, Seattle hasn't been inclined to make a deal for Mayfield up to this point. No other teams have reportedly shown any interest in trading for him either, driving Cleveland deeper into a corner.
Turning 27 years old on Thursday, Mayfield certainly has more talent than many current starters in the league. Only two years ago, he threw 26 touchdowns compared to just eight interceptions while guiding the Browns to an 11-5 record and their first playoff appearance in nearly two decades. The lack of interest in him at the moment isn't talent driven.
In reality, Cleveland doesn't have any leverage whatsoever and hasn't since the moment Watson was persuaded to bring his talents to the shores of Lake Erie with an unprecedented contract. Once he signed the dotted line, other teams such as the Seahawks knew they wouldn't need to pony up a bunch of draft picks to acquire Mayfield. They would just wait until general manager Andrew Berry inevitably released him and ate the dead cap hit.
Conventional wisdom would suggest if Seattle wanted Mayfield, that's the only strategy to take. Once he becomes a free agent, the front office could sign him to a veteran minimum deal with Cleveland taking on the rest of the contract for 2022.
But this offseason has been anything but a conventional one, and if general manager John Schneider thinks Mayfield could be a better option than Lock or the recently re-signed Geno Smith, picking up the phone and making a call to Berry may still be a wise move. Why is that the case?
Ironically, this isn't the first time the Browns have been involved in a trade where a team became so desperate to move a former starting quarterback that they were willing to give away a draft pick on top of it. Back in 2017, they acquired Brock Osweiler from the Texans, receiving a second-round pick to sweeten the deal while taking on the struggling signal caller's salary.
Five years later, the tables have turned for Cleveland. While Mayfield's situation isn't exactly the same as Osweiler - his fully-guaranteed salary and a limited market eliminates any possibility a team would take on much of that money - Schneider could offer to pay a small portion of his salary while also asking for a late-round pick before or after this month's draft.
Why would Berry be willing to do that when the Browns could eat the same amount of money by outright releasing him without giving up draft capital? If Schneider is playing his cards right in this situation, he could mention the possibility of a hungry Mayfield signing with the Steelers to enact revenge against his former team twice a year in the AFC North.
That may not be enough to persuade Berry into such a deal, but Mayfield has enough talent that he could be a long-term answer for the Steelers. The mere thought of him finding success with a hated division rival for the next decade could motivate the franchise to be more aggressive moving him out of conference and a rare deal could come to fruition sending him to the Seahawks with a draft pick. It would clearly be a deal that is mutually beneficial.
Of course, Seattle may have eyes on a rookie quarterback later this month. The team met with Liberty's Malik Willis, North Carolina's Sam Howell, and Mississippi's Matt Corral at the combine, while Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder recently flew out to the VMAC for a top-30 visit. If any of those players gets picked, it seems unlikely Mayfield would be pursued at all, and a trade likely wouldn't happen before then regardless so the front office doesn't tip its hand.
But if the Seahawks don't use an early pick on a quarterback, their due diligence evaluating those prospects could be a smokescreen. In that case, Mayfield could very much still be in play and if the Browns want to eliminate any possibility of him staying in the division, offering up an Osweiler-style white flag by paying most of his salary and giving up a draft pick to go with him could be all it takes to facilitate a deal.
