Baker Mayfield Trade Rumors: Browns QB Drawing Interest from 'Handful' of Teams

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is reportedly drawing trade interest from a "handful" of teams ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, which kicks off Thursday night.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported a deal could happen "over the next few days," with the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks among the possible landing spots.

The Browns completely revamped their quarterback room this offseason. A blockbuster trade brought in Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans to take over as the starter, while Jacoby Brissett and Joshua Dobbs were signed to handle the backup roles.

Not only did it leave Mayfield as the odd man out after spending the past four years leading the Cleveland offense, but it left the team's front office with basically no leverage in trade talks.

Mayfield, who's scheduled to make $18.9 million in the final season of his rookie contract, is too costly to keep around as a reserve and hasn't played well enough for another team to pay anywhere near what the Browns invested to get him (No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft).

So while a trade could happen in the coming days, it's hard to imagine another team would be willing to take on the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner's entire cap hit (the Browns would retain no dead-cap money in a trade) to acquire him.

Most likely, the leak suggesting there are a "handful" of teams involved is probably coming from the Cleveland side in hopes of drumming up some additional interest.

Mayfield is coming off a 2021 season in which he completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He ranked 27th in ESPN's Total QBR and received a lackluster 63.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

While the 27-year-old University of Oklahoma product posted better numbers in 2020, tallying 26 TDs and just eight picks, the few teams still in the market for a potential starter should wait out the Browns and try to sign him as a free agent.

Giving up assets to acquire him in a trade and then paying his $18.9 million salary is too risky for Carolina, Seattle or any other potential suitor.

Signing Mayfield to a short-term, team-friendly deal as a free agent is a better option and could give the quarterback a chance to hit the open market again next offseason after a possible bounce-back year.

It seems Cleveland is going to hold out as long as possible in hopes that a trade option emerges, though.