The Baker Mayfield trade is complete as he passed his physical with the Carolina Panthers and is no longer a member of the Cleveland Browns. The twisting in the wind for the team and the player is finally over but moving on will take some time.
Based on his injury, contract and possible personality clashes (highlighted by Odell Beckham Jr. rift last year), Mayfield’s value around the league seemed to be at an all-time low. It was such a big swing from a year ago when most Browns fans were confident they had their franchise quarterback.
Earlier this week, we covered reporting on the falling out between head coach Kevin Stefanski and Mayfield. The two most essential pieces of the team didn’t trust each other by the time it was all over.
Now comes another report, also from The Athletic but from a Carolina-based writer, that says no other team was a serious suitor for Mayfield this offseason:
Multiple sources told The Athletic that while the Browns discussed Mayfield’s situation with other teams during “routine” offseason discussions, the Panthers were the only serious suitor.
While the above reasons, along with frustration with Cleveland giving Deshaun Watson a guaranteed contract, could have impacted interest in the former Heisman Trophy winner, it is telling that not one other team was considered a serious suitor.
While the Browns were aware of this fact, they held a hard line in negotiations with the Panthers believing other options could become interested during training camp. After the two teams agreed to the trade parameters, Cleveland’s GM Andrew Berry gave Mayfield’s agents a chance to finalize the deal:
But they still had to figure out the financials. Berry called Tom Mills, Mayfield’s Colorado-based agent, and told him the Panthers and Browns had the framework in place but it would be up to Mills to work out the money piece of it with the Panthers.
The Browns stuck to their guns at paying a little over $10 million of Mayfield’s salary while Carolina was firm on paying around $5 million, after initially asking their new QB to give back $7 million instead of what ended up being $3.5 million.
In the end, the Panthers got their, likely, new starting quarterback for a cheap trade on a cheap contract. Mayfield got a chance to re-establish his value before free agency by giving up some of his guaranteed money. Cleveland gets to move on while paying over $10 million to get a fourth or fifth-round pick in two years.