Baker Mayfield is not planning to show for Browns OTAs, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Browns are surely fine with this, given the distraction their former starting quarterback could cause alongside their new one. Cleveland’s OTAs begin Tuesday.
The team has hung onto Deshaun Watson‘s disgruntled predecessor two months after his trade request surfaced, and Panthers and Seahawks interest has not reached the point where the NFC teams are satisfied with how much the Browns are willing to pay to move Mayfield off their roster. Cleveland has, however, expressed a willingness to pay a “good chunk” of Mayfield’s fully guaranteed fifth-year option salary ($18.9MM), Albert Breer of SI.com notes.
A game of chicken may well be taking place between the Browns and the NFC teams, whose quarterback depth charts have drawn consistent scrutiny. Carolina came closest to acquiring Mayfield, entering into trade talks with Cleveland, but it is rolling out a Sam Darnold–Matt Corral competition. Seattle is going with a Drew Lock–Geno Smith setup. Neither group inspires at this point, and the Browns may be betting one of the NFC teams agrees to their terms to finally upgrade at the game’s top position. But the chance the Seahawks or Panthers could land Mayfield for the league minimum exists. That has not enticed either to trade a low-level draft asset for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Because offset language exists in Mayfield’s rookie contract, he would not be able to double dip in salary this year. But if the Browns release him, the former Heisman winner could stick his old team with a $17MM-plus bill by signing for the league minimum ($1.1MM). As such, the Panthers or Seahawks agreeing to pay even a third of Mayfield’s current $18.9MM salary would mean decent savings for the Browns.
OTAs and minicamp could play a major role in how the Panthers and Seahawks proceed, as a healthy version of Mayfield would stand to be an improvement for both teams. Mayfield’s health and the presence of fellow trade-block resident Jimmy Garoppolo still impacts this saga as well. Seattle’s minicamp is scheduled to wrap up June 9; Carolina’s is slated to conclude its offseason program June 16. If neither team blinks, the Browns — who are likely to excuse Mayfield from their mandatory minicamp — will be forced into a decision ahead of training camp. Mayfield is expected to be ready for full participation, following his January shoulder surgery, by training camp, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes.
Seahawks should just wait. The Browns will cut him.
depends on if Deshaun plays this season
would be hilarious if Baker ends up being their qb this year
Baker ain’t playing for Cleveland ever. After taking away the starter’s job from him and trading a massive haul to replace him, on what planet would he ever bail them out of a problem?
Browns won’t cut Mayfield. They will hold onto him through the entire season if nobody ponies up.
you don’t know that .
they very well could cut him if it means saving a couple mil
if deshaun doesn’t play maybe he is tempted to play for the brownies again, but seems rather unlikely
One fly in the ointment is that once Mayfield is released he is free to cut his own deal – and getting beat up on rebuilding Seattle/Carolina teams might not appeal to him. Perhaps he’d rather go spend a year as a backup in a place like Green Bay or Los Angeles and work his new deal in 2023.
ya I see Tampa as a fit
I agree it would be embarrassing for him to go somewhere with qb competition and terrible offense
His deal is a league min than whatever he can workout after that. Who is going to sign him long term if hasn’t played. He will have to go to a place he can start to show his skill. Seattle will have a good OL a couple good RBs if Penney can stay healthy and a WR duo as good as any in the NFL. Right now it is QB and D that will hurt us but they might be good at the end of the year.
Nope. His deal is for 18 plus million. He can’t make more than that. If he gets cut, the other team will only have to pay him 1.1 million. Nothing more. Anything more than that and the Browns pay less
Oh they certainly inspire. Each of those QB competitions inspires nausea in their fan bases.
Any other season, I’d be all in that it’s posturing for any team saying they’re going with Darnold/Corral or Lock/Smith over trading for Mayfield
Not this season. I get it.
Yeah he’s talented but he’s kinda like the Deadpool in that horrific “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” … he has the skills but would be better without a mouth
idk I’d honestly put all those guys in the same category of below avg qbs with potential
Just like the qb they traded for except substitute “mouth” with “Johnson”
There’s a 0.01 percent chance Pete picks him up at the minimum. Mayfield doesn’t fit the run first philosophy
The Browns have been run-first ever since Baker got there.
Mayfield would fit much better in a “run first” philosophy than a pass heavy offense.
Any team that signs him ove league min should be fired from the owner down to the first year waterboy. He gets $18 guaranteed the only way he gets more is if Snyder signs him for $20. League min is all he gets which saves the Browns $1.1 mill.
How could Cleveland have screwed this up worse?
Give a kings ransom for a guy they don’t know when he will play again. Check (unless Roger said he will get off with time served. That would be interesting)
Release negative press on the QB they have now. Check
Play hardball with a team willing to give a draft pick and some salary relief for the disgruntled QB. Check
well I mean it is the browns…
They could try to kill two birds with one stone and claim that it was actually Baker Mayfield and not Deshaun Watson that assaulted all 22+ of those women.
They ended up with one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He’s young. He’s signed for 5 years. Guys as good as Watson don’t end up getting traded. When one does, you do what you have to do to get him. Even if he’s suspended enough to hurt the Browns chances this year, the team is set up for a few years.
Mayfield should pull a John Daly – and go to the facility parking lot just to sell t-shirts and other souvenirs.
I just heard that putz is in Seattle. I hope Pete stays with his word and doesn’t trade for him. I think he is getting a bit senile though and forgets what he said.
Brownsbacker you can say all you want in the end you traded a kings ransom for a perv. You think he will quit doing it? He might start with an at home massagers with a happy ending. He will miss the excitement of doing it to unsuspecting girls. Who knows how many Ben did it too until someone came forward then lost his State Patrol buddies so they had no pull to get him out of it.
Ben quit. I honestly think Watson didn’t think that he was doing anything wrong. He didn’t rape anyone. He has just as many women say that he was fine.
Wow. That’s some serious rationalizing of Watson’s behavior right there.
Why didn’t any one go to the police that night or the next day?
I don’t know what to say about you BB. I say Baker will only get a vet min salary and Cleveland pays the rest. You say nope and parrot what I said. Then you think he didn’t know what he was doing was wrong? That is the absolute dumbest thing I have heard. Try using that as an excuse sometime. I get the feeling you are like 14 or you leave your moms basement 1 day a month when she puts on an environmental suit and cleans the basement.
Did any of the girls go to the police that night or the next day? Any? Don’t you find that strange that not one did?
Watson is going to receive ba significant suspension word on the street is 8 games. Mayfield will be the starting QB, they will then trade him at deadline. Once Mayfield shows he is healthy and a team looking to contend will have a need at QB, Miami?, SF?, Etc. Browns don’t want to eat contract and they weren’t willing to give up the draft capital to have a team take Mayfield. Teams listened but the draft capital offered by Browns wasn’t enough for anyone to take the contract. Baker gets Browns off to a hot start with easy start to schedule and they move him at deadline….
Yeah…Mayfield isn’t going to be bullied into playing for the Clowns again. Do you like being bullied by your employer?
Baker Mayfield is not playing for the Browns again. That’s a guarantee
Too bad that the Browns chose to play it this way. Mayfield is a better QB than most teams have.
But is he good enough to get past the childish crap? When he came out and pouted after a loss and blamed others. I was never a big Wilson fan off the field or in interviews. The one thing I will say he was always upbeat in post game interviews. Took the blame himself and built up the first rnd OL players that had trouble blocking a blocking sled that didn’t move. How many 1st or 2nd rnd OL that were failures. Then some other team signs them after cutting them and they suck for them too. I would think Carpenter Ifedi that waste of an OL who I forget his name. Went to Den then to Bolts and was his own agent. All close to being guarantee’s only thing guaranteed is they would have min 2 false starts and Carpenter would hold on a place he didn’t have to which brought the ball back I think one game he had a holding penalty a hands to the face of the QB. A chop block and illegal downfield. All in the same play. He had to carry an extra flag when he had 3 penalties. With 4 had to go ask another official.
Dude did himself no favours by playing so long and so poorly when injured. When he couldn’t play properly he should have sat down.
Browns don’t want to eat Mayfield bcontract, bring him back and play him during the suspension. With the Bauer suspension being so severe NFL may push for the Watson suspension to be longer than just 8 games.. with Mayfield you can still be competitive in a loaded AFC… If you are playing Brissett you are likely out of the playoff hunt by mid November. Fans will let ownership, Front office and coach know how they feel if they go the Brissett route and are out of hunt in mid season…
A domestic at the NFL level. Announce your shopping and have no better option than you already had? I suspect he will never take another snap from center for the Browns yet they refuse to release him? Boy they crapped in their own cereal here. As a franchise they’ve lost for decades. They finally make the turn in the right direction to becoming a competitive team then this? Cleveland just has to be Cleveland. Nobody knows whats next but they are fun to read about.
Mayfield should show up and force the Browns to cut him.
Mayfield and Garoppolo are better than Goff. Maybe the Lions should enter the chat.
How long do the Lions have to continue to pay Goff full whack?