4 big questions about Baker Mayfield and what’s next
By John Suchan
Question No. 3: How long are we going to have to wait?
As I mentioned earlier I don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer. At this point in the offseason, teams are working out in these voluntary programs. The official start of training camp isn’t for a couple more months. Other NFL teams, like the Browns, will be assessing their team’s needs, strengths and weaknesses.
The free-agent market is still open and there are dozens of players that are still looking for a new home. Once that market starts winding down then some teams will be more interested in picking Mayfield up either in a trade or release. Obviously, other teams are banking on a release of the former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback.
Question No. 2: What are the hang-ups with Baker Mayfield?
Where to start? The biggest problem is the $18.8 million guaranteed money due to Mayfield. If another team were to trade for him now, they’d have to pay that salary. A more likely trade scenario would involve the Browns and another team agreeing on some type of split in the money. The Browns would have to take on some of that salary and just move on.
There has been this idea out there that other teams are deliberately staying away from the former Heisman Trophy winner for a couple of reasons. The first is to show the Browns organization their disproval of the huge contract they gave Deshaun Warson. I don’t buy that reason at all. While some teams and their front offices might say they are bothered, it’s not preventing them from picking up the quarterback — no one would turn down a true franchise quarterback out of spite for someone else overpaying another.
The other reason circulating this week is that Mayfield has had a history of being a very frank and “wears his emotions on his sleeve” kind of player. When you start hearing his former teammates not go out of their way to stick up for their former quarterback, then you get a clearer picture that Mayfield may simply be a bad teammate, and teams in the league already know this and don’t what to disrupt their own chemistry.