Report: Baker Mayfield Believed Browns Were Going to Trade for Vikings' Kirk Cousins

Baker Mayfield reportedly thought the Cleveland Browns were planning a trade for Kirk Cousins before eventually landing Deshaun Watson in a deal with the Houston Texans, per Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. 

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski spent two seasons alongside Cousins with the Minnesota Vikings, serving as quarterbacks coach in 2018 and offensive coordinator in 2019.

Cleveland was still never interested in Cousins, per Lloyd. The team intended to pursue Watson and Russell Wilson in the offseason but would otherwise keep Mayfield under center in 2022.

Cousins was reportedly on the trade block for a time this offseason, with Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writing earlier this month that the Vikings were "very open to dealing him." The veteran instead signed a one-year extension with the team that keeps him under contract through 2023.

Mayfield was seemingly already on his way out of Cleveland.

Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported the quarterback requested a trade and "had no plans on playing for them in 2022."

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick is coming off a disappointing season in which he dealt with multiple injuries and missed three games. He finished the year with 3,010 passing yards and 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions, producing an 83.1 quarterback rating.

After entering the year with high expectations, Cleveland finished 8-9 without a playoff berth. The previous season, the Browns had won their first postseason game since 1994. 

Mayfield has showed flashes of elite play, finishing 2020 with an 11-5 record as a starter and a 95.9 passer rating. He threw 26 touchdowns with only eight interceptions, adding 3,563 passing yards.

The quarterback will look to rejuvenate his career in a new location in 2022.