Baker Mayfield rumors: Steelers interested under 1 condition

The Pittsburgh Steelers are facing a quarterback depth dilemma after the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins. Could they sign Baker Mayfield?

Mayfield is still under contract with the Steelers rival, the Cleveland Browns, making it impossible to sign for the former No. 1 overall pick as things currently stand. Baker was usurped by Deshaun Watson when the Browns traded for him despite the many sexual assault allegations against him.

Say what you want about Mayfield on the football field, off of it he doesn’t appear to be as much of a risk as Watson.

Nonetheless, the Browns made their bet that Watson’s charges will be cleared, and his civil suits will be taken care of shortly. It’s unclear how that prognosis will actually turn out.

As for Mayfield, Cleveland has been trying to trade him for weeks, with few to no takers. Despite a booming quarterback market, the entire NFL spectrum knows the Browns need to trade Mayfield, so there’s little value for him.

This could force the Browns to outright release Mayfield eventually, which is exactly what the Steelers want.

Could the Steelers sign Baker Mayfield?

On ESPN’s Get Up, Jeff Darlington proclaimed that Pittsburgh would sign Mayfield ‘the next day’ if he were made available. This came after Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported the Steelers interest initially, stating they would ‘pounce’ if he were made available on the free agent market.

Of course, the caveat here is that he’d have to be released, which is likely why the Browns are working so hard to find a trade partner such as the Seattle Seahawks, who have a need at quarterback.

However, Seattle picks early in the NFL Draft and could take their QB of the future. Not to mention, Drew Lock was part of the Russell Wilson trade, so he could technically be their bridge quarterback.

So what would be the point of adding Mayfield?

Baker to the Steelers doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on the surface, either. Had they not already spent money on Mitchell Trubisky this offseason, then sure. But Pittsburgh’s been connected to the 2022 NFL Draft class on quarterbacks, as well, and could fill their depth chart void that way, rather than spending money on a final product in Baker.