The quarterback carousel has been spinning all offseason, with teams like the Steelers, Browns, Colts, Broncos, Commanders, Falcons and Seahawks all on track to open next season with new starters. under the center. Not to mention teams like the 49ers, Bears and Texans, all of whom are expected to start passers they drafted last year but had on the bench to start the 2021 season.
There’s still at least one domino to fall in the quarterback market, however, with Cleveland still having Baker Mayfield on their roster, even after trading for Deshaun Watson earlier this offseason. There has been speculation that the Browns could keep Mayfield and start him while Watson serves any suspension handed down under the personal conduct policy after he was accused by more than 20 women of sexual misconduct, but that seems unlikely given the financial realities involved. , as well as the potential inconvenience of changing rooms.
That’s what makes The Athletic’s recent report that the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers have yet to rule out making a play for Mayfield at some point this offseason interesting. From Jeff Howe:
The Panthers and Seahawks have expressed interest in acquiring Mayfield, but the Browns have been unwilling to absorb enough of his fully guaranteed $18.858 million salary. There had indeed been some progress in negotiations between the Browns and Panthers before Carolina traded quarterback Matt Corral – a move the Panthers felt compelled to make with a QB prospect they loved still outstanding.
The Panthers and Seahawks still haven’t ruled out acquiring Mayfield, but they’ll need the Browns to take on a much bigger chunk of his contract than they’ve offered so far. It’s unclear how far apart the two sides have fallen, but the Browns want their contractual contribution to be commensurate with the assets they receive in return.
It should be noted that the last time a team was essentially paid to take on a quarterback’s salary was when the Browns received a second-round pick from the Houston Texans in exchange for absorbing of Brock Osweiler’s $16 million on their books.
But Cleveland took that entire contract, which allowed the Browns to receive an asset in return rather than give up one. If the Browns are willing to absorb some of Mayfield’s salary when he leaves, it could boost their performance in this deal. If they insist that the acquiring team pay Mayfield’s full salary, they may have to attach assets to get him off their cap sheet. Given that opposing teams apparently wouldn’t be too thrilled with the structure of Watson’s contract, they likely won’t be in the mood to help the Browns here, which further complicates matters. It’s a situation that could carry over into the offseason and into training camp, where it may be an injury, rather than compensation, that motivates a team to trade for Mayfield.
