Where will Baker Mayfield land this offseason? Chances are still high that the former Heisman Trophy winner will get traded but to whom?
The NFL Draft has come and gone, and we still don’t know where Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is going to land after a trade. Will he be traded, or will the team have to simply release him after we’ve already had two months of no real solid movement on a potential deal?
Both sides seem pretty stubborn at his point. Mayfield stated he was “feeling disrespected” and the Browns organization doesn’t seem to want to let go of the idea of trading Mayfield and getting his current contract off their books.
I still am in the camp that believes the Browns will not release him but still strike a deal where they’ll pay a good chunk of the salary while making the trade.
Who are the teams that fit this scenario still? I’ve come up with five teams that are still in play. I’ll start with the least likely team and finish with the best fit.
No. 5 landing spot for Baker Mayfield: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here’s a team in the Buccaneers who currently have Tom Brady as their quarterback. Brady retired for a couple of months and then decided to return. So, if Mayfield lands here, he’d be the backup quarterback.
With Brady retiring again in the next year or two, Mayfield could sit behind Brady and at any moment take over command of the Bucs.
Former Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has said in the past that he wanted to be the Browns head coach publicly. He’s now a senior football consultant for the Buccaneers. Arians and the rest of the Buccaneers front office have to be considering a player like Mayfield being a potential backup to Tom Brady. The organization knows he’ll retire again soon, and Mayfield would be there ready to take over.
No. 4 landing spot for Baker Mayfield: Carolina Panthers
For a few days, the thought was that Cleveland and Carolina were close to striking a Baker Mayfield trade deal over this past NFL draft weekend. But they couldn’t reach an agreement and the Panthers ended up drafting Matt Corral from Ole Miss.
It appears that Carolina has moved on from the Baker idea. But, never say never and though it’s unlikely a deal may be done, I don’t think the Panthers are sold on their current quarterback Sam Darnold. Back in 2018 when both he and Mayfield were drafted, few would we have thought then that these two highly touted quarterbacks would potentially play on the same team.
While all indications are that this scenario is likely dead, until Mayfield has officially been traded to some team, I’ll live this door slightly ajar.
No. 3 landing spot for Baker Mayfield: Detroit Lions
I keep thinking Detroit is still a team in the mix. The biggest reason is that you have former Browns general manager John Dorsey up in Detroit now in a similar role. He was the guy who selected Mayfield in 2018 and is obviously a big fan.
The Lions have Jared Goff as their quarterback currently, but if Detroit traded for Mayfield that would give them quite a quarterback competition over the summer. The Lions had a nice draft as well and have signed some excellent talent including wide receiver Jameson Williams, from Alabama. Mayfield could really excel with a team like the Lions who are on the rise.
No. 2 landing spot for Baker Mayfield: Seattle Seahawks
Having Mayfield move out to Seattle has always seemed like the most logical destination for the former Heisman Trophy winner. The Seahawks have brought in quarterback Drew Lock but he’s not the guy that’s going to get the Seahawks to another Super Bowl.
Pete Carroll, the team’s head coach is a very aggressive and frank type of coach. Mayfield has similar qualities. While the two might spar on occasion if they were to be on the same team it might drive Mayfield to try and get better and improve because he’s always had that chip on his shoulder.
Plus, if Mayfield went to Seattle, he’d be competing in a competitive NFC West Division that included the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals. Mayfield is a gunslinger and he’d have a receiver like D.K Metcalf to throw the ball to. The Seahawks just seem like the team calling Mayfield’s name.
No. 1 landing spot for Baker Mayfield: Houston Texans
The team the Browns made the trade for Deshaun Watson might still be a team to be watching as a landing spot for Mayfield. The Texans have been more aggressive this offseason than expected.
They signed wide receiver Brandin Cooks to an extension, and they had a solid draft picking up more offensive weapons like wide receiver John Metchie III from Alabama. The Texans have quarterback Davis Mills as their starter now, but he isn’t going to be taking them anywhere soon. Mayfield would have a legitimate chance at being the starter from day one.
The added factor here is that Mayfield is from Texas and having a chance to return to his home state and lead a team might do him a wealth of good. The motivation from Mayfield to again prove the doubters wrong again might be an intriguing situation for the Texans to consider at this point.