4 teams that would sign Baker Mayfield minutes after a release

NFL executives believe Baker Mayfield will be released by the Browns, and if so, one of these four teams would add him as soon as possible

The Cleveland Browns have been adamant that they won’t release Baker Mayfield. While there’s no scenario where the quarterback and team will work together again, they refuse to let him go without getting something of value in return.

Even with them remaining steadfast, there’s a belief in league circles that the Browns will eventually have no choice but to finally cut ties. If that does happen, these four teams would surely jump on the opportunity to add Mayfield once he’s available.

Potential Baker Mayfield team No. 4: New York Giants

Right now, the New York Giants are set to roll with Daniel Jones for his fourth NFL season. A former first-round pick from Duke, Jones is coming off back-to-back abysmal seasons where he had just 11 touchdown passes in 2020 and 10 in 2021.

Making matters worse for Jones, the Giants are in the middle of another change at head coach. Out is Joe Judge and in is Brian Daboll, who rose to prominence in recent years thanks to his work with Josh Allen as the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator.

There’s some hope that Daboll can be as good for Jones as he was Allen but we’re fooling ourselves if we look at how the two quarterbacks have played the past season and think Jones can be on a similar trajectory.

What’s more likely is Jones will be a free agent in 2023 and the Giants will again be looking for a new quarterback. But perhaps they won’t need to.

Instead of banking solely on Jones — with Tyrod Taylor as the plan-B — New York could take a flier on Baker Mayfield assuming he hits the open market and they can sign him for the league minimum.

Adding him would give them a year to see if they believe the former No. 1 overall pick can be the starter for them long-term — and if not, the risk was very minimal.