3 surprise trade destination fits for Baker Mayfield in 2022

The Cleveland Browns have pretty much no choice but to trade Baker Mayfield in 2022. With some obvious candidates out, where could he land?

Some of the obvious trade fits for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield are off the table.

The Indianapolis Colts have acquired veteran Matt Ryan and won’t be in the Baker Mayfield sweepstakes. The Seattle Seahawks appear poised to go with Drew Lock and maybe a rookie for 2022, though I don’t think they should be fully ruled out at this point.

The Carolina Panthers and Baker Mayfield reportedly have a “mutual disinterest” in working together, which is a hilarious report between a team and player that I don’t recall hearing before.

No Colts. No Panthers. No Seahawks (likely). The Saints re-signed Jameis Winston. Where is Baker Mayfield going to play in 2022?

There might be some trade possibilities that will surprise, as unlikely as some may seem…

Baker Mayfield trade spot no. 1: Pittsburgh Steelers

Let’s start with the least likely of them all. The 16 seed of the Baker Mayfield trade sweepstakes, if you will.

I get it — teams don’t really make trades in their own division. Teams don’t trade quarterbacks to their division rivals, am I crazy for writing this?

You tell me…

Okay, so trading a quarterback in the division is not common, but it’s also not unprecedented either.

You never know in the NFL these days. Since the Browns were willing to trade for and pay Deshaun Watson, why wouldn’t they be willing to trade Baker Mayfield, regardless of the destination? They obviously don’t have that strong of a belief in his skills.

If there are no other trade takers for Mayfield on his fifth-year option, why would you pass up the chance to get draft capital for him just because it is coming from a division rival? You’ve already made the bed you’re going to sleep in and you have decided that Mayfield is not your guy.

Why would you care about playing him twice a year?

The Steelers might have more of an interest in Malik Willis or a QB in this year’s draft than anything else, but they got Mitchell Trubisky on a very team-friendly deal and if they have a chance to get Mayfield for a mid-round draft pick, that would be a good deal for GM Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin.