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Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns could be stuck with each other for at least the near future, if CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora is any sort of soothsayer on the matter.
One of La Canfora's predictions for his '10 bold NFL predictions for the 2022 season' piece was that Mayfield would have to be traded from the Browns as opposed to released straight up, and that Cleveland would have to pay a portion of his salary:
"The Browns will eat $12M of Baker Mayfield's contract. They have no real choice if they want to get anything for him. This will only get more messy and more ugly the longer it goes."
He went on to say:
"They have to bite the bullet and they will eventually bite the bullet. Have done it before and will do it again and this is a case of addition by subtraction. They'll have enough drama with Watson. Can't have it from the No. 3 QB, too."
Cleveland Browns are unwilling to release Baker Mayfield
It never made much sense for the Browns to get rid of Baker Mayfield with nothing to show for it. After what the former No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft said on the Ya Never Know podcast, it's clear he needs to go.
Here's what he said about the Browns back on April 13th after Cleveland acquired Deshaun Watson by trade at the end of March:
“I feel disrespected. 100 percent because I was told one thing and they completely did another. That’s what I’m in the middle of right now. I got my taste of it because I’ve had four different head coaches in four years, a bunch of different coordinators."
The most likely course of action for Cleveland to take would be to wait the situation out and try to capitalize on the quarterback market once the season starts and injuries arise.
The quarterback is still a superior option compared to most of the backups across the league's 32 franchises. If someone on a Super Bowl contender goes down early enough in the season, a deal could yield a strong return, even if the Browns have to eat several million of his salary.
All we know is that the chances of him getting an unconditional release like Nick Foles just did aren't very high.
Where the quarterback will end up is anyone's guess right now, but for the moment he will have to remain in Cleveland.
