Following a long offseason of speculation, the Cleveland Browns have finally traded Baker Mayfield.
On Thursday, the Carolina Panthers acquired the quarterback for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2024.
The NFL world stayed busy imagining a potential deal before it finally happened. In Colin Cowherd’s case, he was discussing Mayfield as news of the trade broke.
The FS1 radio host stopped mid-rant after seeing the deal reported.
Never the biggest Mayfield fan, Cowherd has criticized him for wearing his bat backwards, not properly celebrating every touchdown with teammates at Oklahoma, and claiming to see a UFO.
Despite his often odd and harsh takes against Mayfield, Cowherd doesn’t mind the trade for Carolina.
“Panthers are going to pay five bucks to get Mayfield,” Cowherd said. “Why not?”
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Panthers will pay approximately $5 million of his 2022 salary. The Browns will foot the bill for $10.5 million, and Mayfield agreed to cut $3.5 million from his base salary, which he could recuperate by reaching incentives.
Carolina didn’t give up a high draft pick, and it won’t pay Mayfield a significant amount. So why not take a chance on a former No. 1 pick who led Cleveland to the postseason with a 95.9 quarterback rating in 2020?
Cowherd doesn’t think Mayfield is significantly better than Sam Darnold, but it doesn’t hurt to bring in competition. Mayfield will look to seize the starting job in time to face his former team in Week 1.