5 Possible Future Destinations For Baker Mayfield
After the Cleveland Browns traded for former Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson, it left Baker Mayfield in a bit of an awkward spot. The former #1 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft never really met the high expectations placed upon him, and now that his starting spot in Cleveland is gone, where will he land next? There has been a bit of speculation about this, so I am going to give you 5 possible destinations I can think of where Baker will land next.
#1: Carolina Panthers
The current buzz around the NFL is that the Carolina Panthers are quiet favorites to land Baker Mayfield. This would likely have to include some high draft capital, which Carolina doesn’t really have this season outside of their number 6 pick, so it will all be future picks or players. The Sam Darnold experiment didn’t work, so why not trade for another disgruntled QB who never met his expectations?
#2: Seattle Seahawks
Another team that made a move for a QB, but this time trading away their franchise instead of getting a franchise guy. Seattle could pivot from Russell Wilson and bring in Mayfield as a filer option and pay him on a one or two-year extension. This move would have to include the picks they acquired from Denver in that trade. They did bring in Drew Lock and re-sigh Geno Smith, so their QBs room is already stacked with talent. Could Baker beat out either of those two guys?
#3: New Orleans Saints
Yes, the New Orleans Saints did re-sign Jameis Winston to a 2-year/$28M deal this past offseason, but is he really the answer long term? How will he look after his ACL tear last year? The Saints have some nice capital in this year’s draft, and they could use it to land someone who gets them a little closer to getting back to the playoffs. Baker isn’t crazy accurate down the field, so throwing check downs to Alvin Kamara and slants to Michael Thomas would be a dream to him.
#4: Michigan Panthers
The USFL is back! The league had its inaugural draft, and the Michigan Panthers opted to take Shea Patterson of all people as the first overall pick of the entire league. Do you guys remember Shea Patterson? I do. Guy stinks. If Michigan ever wants to compete for a USFL championship, they gotta bring in a guy like Baker Mayfield. I mean, this roster is loaded with weapons on offense like Quincy Adebojeyo, Jeff Badet, Devin Ross, and others! Now, there would be stiff competition between Patterson, Paxton Lynch, and Mayfield, and I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall of that QBs room.
#5: Progressive in Austin, Texas
There is no shame in NFL players who are forced out of the league to take day jobs. People do it all the time. Not everyone is cut out to make it in the league! Mayfield could wander on back to Austin, Texas, and keep working for Progressive selling insurance. I know it isn’t the glamorous lifestyle he was probably used to in Cleveland, Ohio, but it’s an honest day’s work and someone has to do it. Think he gets to keep doing commercials?
There are a lot of options on the table for Baker Mayfield. The writing is on the wall that his days in Cleveland are numbered, and he will be somewhere else next season. Hopefully, this sheds some light on where he might end up playing next season. All the best, Baker. The AFC North will miss you.
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