The Cleveland Browns shook the NFL world to its core last week when they acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans.
Although Watson is objectively a huge upgrade at quarterback, his arrival creates something of a complicated problem for the Browns: what should they now do with Baker Mayfield?
The obvious desired option would be to simply trade Mayfield. Unfortunately, the market for him is not great at the moment.
The Indianapolis Colts were Mayfield’s preferred landing spot, but their acquisition of Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons closes the door on that prospective move.
To make matters worse, on Tuesday yet another squad publicly opted to reject the idea of trading for Mayfield.
Despite twitter reports:
I’m told the Panthers are still NOT interested in Baker Mayfield.— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) March 21, 2022
The Panthers were a finalist in the Deshaun Watson Sweepstakes and desperately need a quarterback. That said, it appears even they aren’t willing to pull the trigger on Mayfield at this juncture.
Mayfield clearly comes with some issues. This past weekend’s hoopla with a young woman leaking his private DMs was the latest example of the nonsense that often follows him on and off the field. Plus, so many of his Browns teammates hating him isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.
That said, the former Oklahoma standout is a decent quarterback. Certainly not as bad as he is being made out to be. In that respect, it’s a bit surprising that there is so little demand for him in a league that seems to love giving questionable passers second chances.
A gamechanger for college basketball. https://t.co/WtFvJ5unth
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 21, 2022
At the moment, there is one dark horse candidate to acquire Mayfield. But if that falls through, it’s hard to see where all parties involved go from here.
Will the Browns be able to find a trade partner for Mayfield at some point in the foreseeable future? Time will tell.
Related: Bradley Beal Gets Blunt About Where Wizards Must Improve
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
