Henry Roldán
The Baker Mayfield novel appears to have come to an end after the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers finally reached an agreement on a deal for the quarterback.
According to reporter Joe Person, the Browns sent Mayfield to the Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick, which can become a fourth-round pick if the QB plays 70% of the team’s snaps next season.
Also, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that the Browns finally agreed to pay a large portion of Baker Mayfield’s salary, one of the reasons they had not yet been able to trade him.
Despite the fact that the quarterback’s salary will be reduced by $3.5 million, which will be converted to incentives, Cleveland will pay $10.5 million, while Carolina will spend $5 million.
This ends a complicated history for Mayfield in Cleveland after being taken as the first overall pick of the 2018 Draft and leading the organization to its first postseason, in 2020, after an 18-year drought.
Prior to the trade to the Panthers, the Seahawks were also rumored to be bidding heavily for his services following the departure of Russell Wilson.
The Baker Mayfield & Deshaun Watson Story
Although the Browns announced early in 2022 that Baker Mayfield would be their starting quarterback, once Deshaun Watson’s legal picture began to clear up a bit, the Browns didn’t hesitate to acquire him from the Texans and stab their first-round pick in the back.
Mayfield obviously felt betrayed by the team and immediately asked for a trade, something that became very difficult because Cleveland did not want to take over part of his salary.
The Browns finally had to give in to the impending breakdown in relations between the two sides, as Mayfield would still not play this year, and they would have to pay him just over $16 million to be on the bench.
Meanwhile, in Cleveland, the situation seems quite complex because it appears to be a given that Watson will receive some punishment from the NFL for his off-field conduct.
