Cleveland Browns: 3 big questions as we start the month of July

Cleveland Browns Question No. 2 – What will happen to Mayfield?

The $19 million question every Cleveland Browns fan continues to ask; what’s going to happen to Baker Mayfield? With his fifth-year option fully guaranteed, the Browns either need to find a trade partner willing to pay a portion of his salary, or they will likely end up cutting him before the start of the season.

I wish that keeping him around to potentially be the backup or starter (assuming some sort of Watson suspension), but it appears that isn’t an option. Mayfield hasn’t bashed the organization too badly, but he has made it clear he’s ready to move on.

The rumors swirling are the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers are the two most interested in a trade. Should Mayfield be cut, he would have a ton of interested suitors as long as he kept his price in line with his value.

I think Berry finds a way to trade him, it will be a huge swallow of his pride, but he’s slowly realizing that Mayfield’s lack of value and Cleveland’s lack of leverage in the situation is going to be a huge uphill battle.

Mayfield is coming off a bad season and shoulder surgery, and every team knows that the Browns must dump him. Many have reported that the Browns are willing to pay half of his salary for a pick in return, but he may have to go even deeper.

I would argue he should consider paying the full salary and getting a higher pick in return. The Browns have plenty of cap space headed into 2022, so it would only cost owner, Jimmy Haslam, some money to buy a pick.