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The Baker Mayfield saga seems set to continue throughout the summer. The NFL Draft has been and gone and he remains with the Cleveland Browns, much to the chagrin of both the team and the player.
While it's fun to think of him showing up to the Browns and demanding to play, it doesn't sound realistic at all. A trade agreement should be reached. The alternative is the Browns releasing him, but this scenario could take a long time to happen.
A far more likely scenario is a team getting into training camp and realizing they need a major upgrade under center. One team that might fit that bill are the Houston Texans.
At this point, the Texans have second-year man Davis Mills penciled in as the starter. He has little to no competition with Kyle Allen and Jeff Driskel as his backups. Surprisingly, Allen will earn more than Mills in 2022 with a salary of just over $2 million. Houston has plenty to spend on the position, should they choose to.
So why not Mayfield? If the Texans want to give Lovie Smith a chance to win and avoid the situation David Culley dealt with, adding the former No. 1 overall pick makes sense.
Texans can jumpstart a new era with Baker Mayfield
The Texans were forced into something of a no-man's land in 2021 when Deshaun Watson demanded a trade. He was still on the active roster, but the team decided it was best to just keep him away and figure something out. The Browns are currently in a similar situation with Mayfield.
It is important to point out that Mills has earned his current position as the starter. He stepped into an impossible situation and threw 16 touchdowns as a rookie in 11 starts. He also had 2,664 yards and a completion percentage of 66.8. His performance sure looked better than his counterparts in Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, and even Trevor Lawrence at times.
The Texans finished near the bottom of the NFL standings with a 4-13 record. In the AFC South, only the Jacksonville Jaguars had a worse record than Houston. Poor form is not long forgiven in the NFL, regardless of a team's circumstances. If they are seriously looking to improve, Mayfield has already proven his value to a desperate team.
When he was drafted by the Browns into an impossible situation, he helped turn them around and within a few seasons brought them their first playoff victory since 1994.
Interestingly, Mayfield is also a Texas native. Known for thriving in the face of adversity, could he be the key to turning around the Texans franchise?
The stumbling block for most franchises has been the quarterback's contract. $19 million is not a cheap deal. However, the Texans have only a few million dollars committed to the quarterback position. They could sign him on a one-year deal and if he fails, Mills is still there ready to step in.
If the Texans want to compete in a stacked AFC, a trade for Mayfield makes a ton of sense. With the Tennessee Titans ruling the South for the last two years and the Indianapolis Colts ever-improving, Houston needs to act fast or risk being left behind.
