The Facts: The Panthers and Browns were trying to find a landing spot for Mayfield. They reportedly couldn’t strike a deal on splitting his $18,8 million base salary, prompting the Panthers to pivot to Matt Corral. So what’s next for Mayfield? The Panthers and Falcons have drafted quarterbacks. The Seahawks didn’t. Other teams that were looking include the Lions and Saints. As PFT's Mike Florio suggests, Seattle seems like the obvious landing spot, but they’ve done nothing to indicate an interest in Mayfield. Maybe they now will, given that Cleveland’s options are drying up, and their expectations could be changing.
Diehards Line:
Unlike a rookie who can sit for a year or two, Mayfield is on a one-year deal. Whoever gets him via trade will have to be ready to play him now. That leaves, at this point, the Seahawks as the best option. The Saints are a possibility, if they aren’t as sold on Jameis Winston as they pretend to be. Wherever it goes from here, Mayfield can’t be happy with how it’s gone. Yes, he’s getting $18.8 million this year no matter what. But will he have a chance to parlay 2022 into a much bigger payday in 2023? He needs to be able to play in order to make that happen. As Florio added, unless the Lions are willing to kick Jared Goff to the curb (or, say, the Texans decide that Davis Mills isn’t really the answer or the Giants determine to move on from Daniel Jones now instead of later), Mayfield is stuck. And the Browns are stuck.