The Cleveland Browns have made a blockbuster trade for QB Deshaun Watson. Baker Mayfield will soon be on the move, but where’s he headed?
The Cleveland Browns made a blockbuster trade to acquire quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans.
Not only that, but they gave Watson easily the biggest fully guaranteed contract in league history right after. So what does all of that mean for former Heisman winner and number one pick Baker Mayfield?
If Mayfield has it his way, he will be handing the ball off to Jonathan Taylor a lot.
Baker Mayfield apparently prefers the Colts in a trade
My understanding is Baker Mayfield has told the #browns he’d like to be traded to the #colts. There is interest from the Colts per sources. We’ll see where this goes, the two sides haven’t even talked just yet.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) March 18, 2022
The internet has already made it happen in jersey swap form.
@Colts @bakermayfield Let's make it happen!!! pic.twitter.com/TjSAjeMpGR
— 🅰 🅵🆁🅴🅴 🅼🅰🅽 (@afreeman42) March 19, 2022
How fascinating would it be for the Indianapolis Colts to go from Carson Wentz to Baker Mayfield after making it the goal of their offseason to get rid of Wentz? Part of the reason why the Colts moved on from Wentz so quickly was due to the fact that he made bad decisions in games at the worst possible times, and that hasn’t exactly been an area of great strength for Mayfield through the years.
Still, the environment for a quarterback in Indianapolis seems to be one where a quarterback like Mayfield could thrive.
Frank Reich has obviously done some great work through the years with quarterbacks and that’s part of the reason why he was hired by the Colts in the first place.
At this point, it might not make that much sense but I would much rather have Baker Mayfield than Carson Wentz.
Mayfield may rub some the wrong way, but I still view his “ceiling” in the NFL as very high. Mayfield is not the reason why the Cleveland Browns have been limited as a franchise and I would argue he is the reason why that franchise has climbed out of the gutter and into an area of actual expectation.
He’s not perfect, but when Mayfield is healthy, he’s absolutely an above-average NFL quarterback. In the right system, I think he has top 10-12 potential.
A trade to the Colts would undoubtedly lead to some other necessary moves for Indianapolis. That is a team that needs to make moves — strictly speaking about the offense — at tackle, guard, wide receiver, and probably tight end.
After winning nine games last season, the expectations for the Colts continue to be playoffs or bust. Mayfield is capable of getting that team to the playoffs but are they a contender with him under center?
That’s impossible to predict, so we’d need to actually see that one happen.
For the time being, the Browns have to trade Mayfield and while it’s unlikely he will get to hand-pick his next destination, the Indianapolis Colts make plenty of sense from a football perspective. Ironically, the only reason why Indianapolis may miss out is the fact that they traded their first-round pick in this year’s draft for Carson Wentz.
That pick, like a timeout late in the fourth quarter, would be coming in handy right about now.
The Colts could still put together a competitive offer for Wentz but they will have to beat out other QB-needy teams like the Seahawks, Saints, or Panthers. Those teams are also in the NFC where the Browns wouldn’t have to see Mayfield but once every four years or — if all things get crazy — in the Super Bowl.
For now, Mayfield is on the trade block and teams have the chance to bring their best offers to Cleveland. Ultimately, it will not necessarily be the team that wants Mayfield the most that gets him, but the team that is willing to make the best offer. Can the Colts do that?