Browns unwilling to pay any of Baker Mayfield's salary in a trade

The Cleveland Browns appear to be well aware of how difficult it will be for them to receive anything of great value in a Baker Mayfield trade.

The Browns want to trade Mayfield as soon as possible and are actively trying to do so, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The team is not asking for a first-round pick in return for Mayfield. However, the Browns are not willing to pay any of Mayfield’s salary in order to facilitate a trade, Cabot says.

The Browns had told Mayfield at the NFL Combine that they would only pursue an elite quarterback to replace him. They did so by trading for Deshaun Watson. At the time, the Browns had promised to try to move Mayfield to a preferred destination, but none of the teams that could even plausibly be interested were on Mayfield’s initial list.

There is not any real clarity about where Mayfield might play in 2022. Some teams may be interested in Mayfield. But They would rather see the Browns release him than trade for him and take on his salary.

Mayfield’s salary of nearly $19 million will clearly be a huge stumbling block, but that is not changing the Browns’ stance on kicking in salary.