Panthers reportedly 'most likely spot for' Browns' Baker Mayfield

There are more whispers that the Seattle Seahawks may not be the club that lands current Cleveland Browns wantaway backup quarterback Baker Mayfield now that his current employer has Deshaun Watson atop the depth chart. 

In a podcast released Wednesday, Mayfield said that he views Seattle as his "most likely option" out of Northeast Ohio this spring or summer, but a report shared later that day claimed the Seahawks don't "want to give up much" for the 2018 first overall draft pick because they wish to give Drew Lock "a legitimate shot at the starting job" after they acquired Lock in the deal that involved them sending Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos last month. 

Additionally, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times wrote Seattle has "$15.7 million remaining in cap space for the 2022 season" and, thus, currently can't afford the fully guaranteed salary of $18.858 million Mayfield is owed for the upcoming campaign. 

Per Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport named a different team that could be in for Mayfield before the NFL Draft gets underway on April 28 during his latest appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." 

"He identified the Seahawks as his likely team," Rapoport said of Mayfield. "That was a little surprising to me because I haven’t gotten the sense at all that the Seahawks are that interested. At the salary, they’re not that interested. They’ve added Drew Lock, they’ve added [re-signed] Geno Smith, they may take a quarterback in the draft because I know they’ve done a lot of homework. I think they had Desmond Ridder in on Wednesday." 

Rapoport continued: 

"To me, the Carolina Panthers seem to be the most likely spot for Baker Mayfield, or maybe a team brings him in as a high-money backup, like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — that would make some sense to me." 

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer admitted in late March that "we do need a quarterback" who, presumably, would serve as an upgrade over current starter Sam Darnold, and mock drafts routinely shared by CBS Sports analysts have linked Carolina with both Malik Willis of the Liberty Flames and Kenny Pickett of the Pittsburgh Panthers. 

The Buccaneers, meanwhile, recently re-signed backup Blaine Gabbert after general manager Jason Licht teased he could pursue "a veteran quarterback" at some point this offseason.