The Cleveland Browns may have placed themselves between a rock and a hard place with QB Baker Mayfield. Despite reportedly making it clear at the NFL combine that they would pursue clear upgrades at the position or run it back with him at quarterback, Mayfield requested a trade following the team’s pursuit of Deshaun Watson.
Despite the quarterback stating that the relationship is not able to be mended, the team quickly turned down his request to be traded.
Based on the combine report, having Mayfield as their starter for 2022 has seemed to be their plan if they couldn’t find a clear upgrade. Watson being cleared from his criminal case seemed to open the door for that on-the-field upgrade, despite the allegations against the Houston quarterback. Denying the trade request with a plan for Mayfield to start next year makes sense.
It is also possible they are trying to keep his trade value high by stating they will not deal him. Mayfield has very little leverage, outside tanking the season and his own future contract, to make a deal happen. If they are able to raise his trade value, the Seattle Seahawks could have some interest:
I'm told the #Seahawks have discussed exploring acquiring Baker Mayfield at quarterback, per league sources.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 17, 2022
The Seahawks dealt away their long-time starter Russell Wilson for a large haul including picks that could be used to acquire Mayfield. Currently, Drew Lock is set to be their starter. While Mayfield has had his struggles, he has been significantly better than Lock.
Trading Mayfield to Seattle would leave Cleveland where the Seahawks currently are: Without a starting quarterback. If the team decides the relationship between themselves and the QB they drafted #1 overall is not able to be mended, a trade could help them build their team around another quarterback or acquire that quarterback.