How Baker Mayfield helped make Deshaun Watson trade a reality

Even though the Cleveland Browns didn’t seem like a likely landing spot for Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield may have changed that a bit.

While at one point it seemed like the Cleveland Browns were out of the running for Deshaun Watson, apparently Baker Mayfield’s intentions might have helped make the trade become a reality for the Browns.

Mayfield, who was drafted by the Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft and helped the franchise find a way to win in recent seasons after years of horrible football, was apparently willing to be done in Cleveland as it looked like the Browns were potentially interested in finding a new quarterback to lead the franchise forward.

Interestingly enough, Mayfield’s actions may have helped create an incentive for the Browns to go all in on trading for Watson.

According to a report by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns were told Thursday that Watson wasn’t interested in being traded to Cleveland. However, after Mayfield’s agent told the Browns that he wanted out of town, things changed considerably.

Deshaun Watson trade: Baker Mayfield’s ‘intentions’ reportedly ‘may have revived’ Cleveland Browns trade for Watson

According to Cabot’s report, that trade request from Mayfield may have helped motivate the Browns to send as many draft picks as they possibly could down to the Houston Texans in exchange for Watson.

As Cabot notes, that trade request, along with word from Mayfield’s team that the quarterback “had no plans on playing for [the Browns] in 2022, may have been enough to get this trade possible once more.

Ultimately, as we all know, the Browns did make the blockbuster trade for Watson. Some Browns fans are less than thrilled and Cleveland’s front office is being criticized by many for the trade, but at the end of the day it happened. Now we wait and see to find out where Mayfield will end up playing going forward.