NFL Trade Rumors: Baker Mayfield's camp believed Browns were trading for Kirk Cousins 

The Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield are nearly at the end of their time together. The team finished up last week by making a blockbuster deal for Deshaun Watson, leaving their former No. 1 overall pick in need of a new team.

Reports emerged saying the team had let the quarterback in on their plans to pursue a top signal-caller. A recent report explained what Mayfield's agents were thinking up until the Watson news broke. NFL insider Dov Kleiman has let fans know that the quarterback believed he was heading to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for Kirk Cousins.

So far, there have been no takers. The Browns landed Watson before having a plan in place for their own guy, other than to just trade him away.

Kleiman was citing a report by The Athletic's Jason Lloyd.

"Baker Mayfield stopped communicating with the Browns. His side believed they would trade for Kirk Cousins. Andrew Berry told his agent they would only pursue one of the elite guys if they could get one. Turns out, they got one." - Jason Llyod via The Athletic

So Mayfield stopped talking with the team and was left in the dark to come up with theories of his own. Unfortunately for him, his idea of being traded to start in Minnesota did not come true.

An unknown future for Baker Mayfield following his time with the Browns

Cincinnati Bengals v Cleveland Browns

So what comes next for the former top pick in the draft? No one seems to know as potential destinations continue to fill up. Indianapolis and Atlanta seemed likely, only for the Colts to land Matt Ryan and the Falcons to quickly fill their void under center with Marcus Mariota. The New Orleans Saints then went out and signed Jameis Winston.

That leaves the Seattle Seahawks as one potential destination, while the Carolina Panthers could be in as well. Yet Panthers fans may not like the idea of Mayfield competing with Sam Darnold, both on their fifth-year options.

Minnesota decided to stick with Cousins, and the Browns swung for the fences with Watson. Another option for Mayfield is getting cut by the Browns, getting his money, and signing somewhere as a backup. He could take the Mitch Trubisky route of being a backup for one season, only to be a top option on the market in 2023.

Mayfield ended the 2021 season with 3,010 yards (ranked 24th), 17 touchdowns (22nd), 13 interceptions (tied for 19th), and a QBR of 35.1 (27th). This cannot be how the quarterback thought his 2022 season would go. And as we know now, he thought he could be the starter in Minnesota. Instead, he is just looking for any team to take another chance on him.

The Seahawks and Panthers are two places where he could potentially start. But if Jimmy Garoppolo is his competition, he may be out of luck this season.

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