Browns rumors: Baker Mayfield trade all comes down to money

Money is the biggest holdup when it comes to the Cleveland Browns trading Baker Mayfield.

The dollars and cents will have to make sense first before the Cleveland Browns decide to part ways with their former starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield will be playing on his fifth-year option this fall, no matter what team takes on whatever percentage of his contract. He is on the Browns’ books for $18.858 million for the 2022 NFL season. Though the Browns could conceivably cut Mayfield and just be done with it, the Cleveland brass is not only looking for trade compensation, but another team to take on some of the money.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on SportsCenter Sunday that while some teams would be willing to take on $5-6 million of his annually salary, the Browns would prefer that number to be closer to half of that $18.858 million. The other key component of Fowler’s SportsCenter hit is he mentioned one team in particular as a trade destination for the Browns: The Carolina Panthers.

The question is if a team like the Panthers will be willing to take on over $9 million of Mayfield’s fully-guaranteed 2022 NFL season salary?

Cleveland Browns: An impending Baker Mayfield trade is all about the money

From Fowler’s reporting, there does seem to be a market for Mayfield after all, but only at a certain price. Teams like the Panthers would consider adding him to the fold at about a third of the cost of his fifth-year option. Though trading for him would be a bit of a redundancy, as fellow 2018 first-rounder Sam Darnold is already on the roster, Carolina did not draft Darnold out of USC either.

In short, wherever Mayfield ends up playing this year, it will likely only be a one-off affair. The best thing he and his camp can do is play nice this fall and get to NFL free agency in March. Once that happens, he can figure out what place is best for him to reinvent his career. Cleveland gave him the fifth-year option for a reason. He can play, but a clash of personalities was his Browns’ undoing.

It sounds like $4 million or so is what stands between Mayfield being traded away from Cleveland.