Baker Mayfield does not report for Browns' voluntary offseason program
The new starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns showed up for work on Tuesday.
Their former starter did not.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t Kevin Patra) previously noted that Baker Mayfield was not expected to report for the start of the Browns' voluntary offseason workouts on Tuesday morning after his employer acquired star signal-caller Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans last month. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Mayfield was not spotted at the team's facility, but Watson arrived in snowy Cleveland following the holiday weekend.
Mayfield is still recovering from the January surgery he needed to repair his injured non-throwing shoulder and is waiting to learn the identity of his next football home. The 2018 first-overall draft pick who is owed a fully guaranteed salary of $18.858 million for the final season of his rookie contract has repeatedly been linked with the Seattle Seahawks and, more recently, the Carolina Panthers, but it remains unknown if a club will send any asset to Cleveland for a player who is clearly surplus to requirements ahead of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Watson, meanwhile, is still facing 22 civil lawsuits regarding allegations of sexual misconduct but has had two Texas grand juries decline to indict him on criminal charges. He could, however, still be made ineligible to play for a portion of the 2022 campaign via an NFL suspension.
He has strongly denied any wrongdoing over the past year.
If Watson is suspended, it's assumed veteran journeyman and free-agent signing Jacoby Brissett would rise to the top of Cleveland's depth chart. It's believed the Browns could cut Mayfield this summer if no team trades for him beforehand.
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