Baker Mayfield trade rumors: Panthers and Seahawks still open to acquire Browns QB, says report

The quarterback carousel has been going all over the off season, with teams like SteelersAnd BrownAnd poniesAnd BroncoAnd leadersAnd hawksAnd Seahawks Everything is on track to open next season with new starters under position. This is not to mention teams like 49ersAnd bearAnd TexasAll are expected to start the passers who drafted last year but were off the bench for the start of the 2021 season.

There is still at least one domino to fall in the quarterback market, though, with Cleveland still owning Baker Mayfield In his list, even after trading against Deshaun Watson Earlier this off season. There has been speculation that Brown could keep Mayfield and get him started while Watson makes any comment delivered under the personal conduct policy following his accusation by more than 20 women of sexual misconduct, but this seems unlikely given the financial facts involved. , plus potential embarrassment in the locker room.

This is what makes the latest report from The Athletic that both the Seahawks and Carolina Panthers They haven’t yet ruled out making a game for Mayfield interesting at some point this off season. from Jeff Howe:

The Panthers and Seahawks showed interest in acquiring Mayfield, but Brown wasn’t willing to absorb enough of his fully guaranteed $18.858 million salary. There was already some progress in the negotiations between the Browns and the Panthers before the Carolinas were traded for the quarterback Matt Coral – a move the Panthers felt they had to make with the possibility of a QB they loved still hanging out there.

The Panthers and Seahawks have not ruled out a Mayfield acquisition, but they will need the Browns to take a much larger part of his contract than they have offered so far. It is unclear how far the two sides have been, but Brown wants their contract to be proportional to the assets they are receiving in return.

It’s worth noting that the last time a team was primarily paid to receive a quarterback’s salary was when Brown received a second-round pick from the Houston Texans in exchange for absorbing them. Brock Osweiler$16 million in their books.

But Cleveland took over that contract entirely, which allowed the Browns to get an asset in return rather than give it up. If Brown is willing to absorb some of Mayfield’s salary on his way out, it could increase their return on this deal. If they insist that the acquiring team pay Mayfield’s salary in full, they may have to attach assets to get rid of it from their cap sheet. Given that the opposing teams aren’t too thrilled with Watson’s contract structure, they likely aren’t in the mood to help Brown here, which complicates matters further. This is a situation that could continue during the holiday period and into training camp, where it may be injury, rather than compensation, that motivates the team to trade for Mayfield.