Baker Mayfield officially wants out of Cleveland. After spending the week watching the Browns try to acquire Deshaun Watson, it appears that Mayfield no longer feels wanted and he’s now requested a trade in order to get out of Cleveland, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero and confirmed by CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
In a statement to ESPN, Mayfield made it clear that it would be best for both parties if the quarterback were to get a fresh start somewhere else.
“It’s in the mutual interest of both sides for us to move on,” Mayfield said. “The relationship is too far gone to mend. It’s in the best interests of both sides to move on.”
Despite the request, the Browns have apparently decided they’re not going to be strong-armed into dealing away their starting quarterback. CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora has reported that the Browns have told Mayfield that they are not going to honor his trade request, which means the drama is likely going to continue with the two sides currently in a stalemate.
The Browns can’t force Mayfield to play for them and there’s always a possibility that he could hold out if the team refuses to trade him. Mayfield is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and it’s possible the Browns could change his mind about the trade request if they offer him a monstrous extension, but the relationship has deteriorated so much between the two sides that it’s possible that not even money will fix it.
There’s been some drama between Mayfield and the Browns all offseason, but things took a turn for the worse over the past week when Cleveland decided to go all-in on trying to acquire Watson. The Browns didn’t try to hide the fact that they coveted the Texans QB and they wanted to make a trade for him so that he could replace Mayfield.
After the Browns visited with Watson this week, Mayfield took to Twitter on Tuesday night to share a message that basically sounded like a heartfelt goodbye to fans in Cleveland. In the message, Mayfield told fans that he has “no clue” what’s going to happen next.
If Mayfield does get dealt away, two possible options could be the Colts or Seahawks. According to CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Seahawks have actually explored the possibility of acquiring Mayfield. If you want to check out other possible landing spots for Mayfield, be sure to click here.
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