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The Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns were reportedly nowhere near a deal for quarterback Baker Mayfield during this year’s NFL Draft. Ultimately, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry and Carolina general manager Scott Fitterer disagreed on how to split the quarterback’s $18.8 million guaranteed money owed for the 2022 season.
The Browns aren’t looking to cut their quarterback, though with a team like the Seattle Seahawks not showing any interest, cutting him might be an option on the table. The Houston Texans have also risen as a possible contender for the quarterback’s services.
The Seahawks and Texans, along with other teams, would probably take a stronger look at the Cleveland signal-caller as a free agent, but for now, Cleveland doesn’t seem quite ready to sever ties with the former number one overall pick.
According to ESPN NFL insider Jake Trotter, Mayfield’s future was destined to be with the Browns, but that is now quickly falling apart:
“Mayfield, however, is still waiting for his new beginning. With no other trade partner on the horizon and Cleveland, thus far, unwilling to negotiate Mayfield's release, according to sources, the Browns' quarterback continues to have a murky future. A future that, just a year ago, seemed destined to be in Cleveland -- before rapidly falling apart.”
Moreover, Cleveland traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson to supplant Mayfield as the starter under center for the Browns this offseason. As the saga continues in Cleveland, the Panthers look to have moved forward in the 2022 NFL Draft at the quarterback position.
Panthers draft their quarterback
In the third round of this year’s draft, Carolina selected Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. Fitterer looked to have closed the door on adding another quarterback after drafting Corral to add to the current quarterbacks on Carolina’s roster in Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker.
However, Fitterer noted that his objective over the draft was to add a signal-caller and that it was the group of quarterbacks entering the 2022 season for the Panthers, saying:
“I never put an absolute on anything. We came into this weekend with the intention of getting a quarterback, and that’s what we did. And we’re going to go with this group.”
As the Panthers drafted their future quarterback in Corral, we’ll see if that door reopens should Mayfield be released by the Browns this offseason.
