New report links Browns' Baker Mayfield with Seahawks

The harsh truth of the matter is that the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield are short on options regarding the 26-year-old's playing future after his current employer acquired star signal-caller Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans in a controversial trade last month. 

Multiple other clubs have already made moves for starters, while teams such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints signed veteran backups and, presumably, aren't interested in sending any asset to Cleveland for the first-overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft who has a fully guaranteed salary of $18.858 million for the 2022 season. Browns general manager Andrew Berry said at the league's annual meetings in March that he has no "specific timetable for the QB room" and that Cleveland possesses "the [cap] flexibility" to keep Mayfield on the roster, potentially up through the start of the campaign. 

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports isn't buying what Berry tried to sell.

For a piece published Monday, La Canfora wrote that neither Mayfield nor the Browns "wants this to linger deep into the offseason" and added that Cleveland could "end up assuming" $5 million to trade Mayfield to an interested team. Specifically, La Canfora linked Mayfield with the Seattle Seahawks, who are heading toward the opening night of the upcoming draft on April 28 with former Denver Broncos flop Drew Lock atop their depth chart. 

"Seattle makes the most sense to me for Mayfield, still," La Canfora explained. "The Seahawks are used to having a QB without ideal size, they don't mind big personalities, Mayfield has been to the playoffs, and I don't see Pete Carroll wanting a true re-boot under center." 

Previous reports indicated the Seahawks are among teams willing to wait to see if the Browns will cut Mayfield after the draft next month if they don't find a trade partner before that player-selection process ends.