Baker Mayfield Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Browns' Potential QB Plans

Baker Mayfield had a down year in 2021, his fourth season as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback. Is it possible it may have been his last year with the franchise?

There's some uncertainty regarding the 26-year-old's future this offseason, with rumors swirling about the possibility of the Browns going in a different direction. Those come after Mayfield passed for 3,010 yards and 17 touchdowns (both career lows) and threw 13 interceptions in 14 games this past season.

According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, Cleveland has "definitely been doing due diligence on potentially available veterans" at the quarterback position. And there seems to be the potential for the Browns to make a move that could include Mayfield.

"I heard lots of rumblings in the latter part of this week about Cleveland making a trade for a quarterback and possibly shipping out Mayfield, either as part of the deal or in a separate deal," Graziano added before noting that the quarterback's $18.858 million salary for the 2022 season is fully guaranteed, so trading him in exchange for a signal-caller with a larger contract would "offset some of the cost."

Naturally, the Browns would need to find a trade partner for this to happen. And there are a lot of teams that have already made quarterback-focused moves this offseason. The Seattle Seahawks traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. The Indianapolis Colts dealt Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders. And Aaron Rodgers announced that he will be returning to the Green Bay Packers.

Another quarterback who is likely to be traded this offseason is the Houston Texans' Deshaun Watson. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns have "done their homework" on Watson and will continue to monitor his status.

Watson didn't play during the 2021 season. On Friday, a Harris County grand jury decided that he would not face any criminal charges after 22 women had filed civil lawsuits accusing Watson of sexual assault and misconduct.

From 2017 to 2020, Watson passed for 14,539 yards, 104 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in 54 games for Houston. If he produces at that level in 2022, he could be an upgrade over Mayfield for the Browns.

However, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler isn't sure a Watson-to-Cleveland deal could be in the works, writing: "Does Watson want to go to Cleveland? I don't get the sense the Browns would be super high on his list, but they have a few selling points, including a good head coach (Kevin Stefanski) and players around him to win."

Despite all these rumors, it's possible that Mayfield will continue to be Cleveland's starting quarterback in 2022. Wherever he plays, he will be looking to have a bounce-back season.

It's going to be an important year for Mayfield considering this is the last season of his contract. If he hopes to land a sizable deal in free agency next offseason—either from the Browns or another team—it would help if he could put up some big numbers in 2022.