The Cleveland Browns’ open pursuit of Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson seems to have burned a bridge with incumbent QB1 Baker Mayfield.
Despite the Browns losing out on a potential trade for Watson, Mayfield no longer wants to be a part of the organization. On Thursday, the former No. 1 overall pick filed a trade request away from the team that welcomed him back in 2018.
The Browns were open to having Mayfield back as their starting quarterback in 2022, but an impending separation was also very much in question.
According to NFL insider Peter Schrager, the Cleveland organization knew exactly what they were getting into this offseason.
“There’s teams with quarterbacks like Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa — and those teams aren’t going and courting Deshaun Watson,” he said. “Clearly [the Browns] look at this as the final year of the Baker Mayfield experience. We know it’s gonna affect him. We know how sensitive he is. We know how emotional he is. Yet they’re going to go and openly meet with Deshaun Watson. And if Baker isn’t happy with that, then they’ll deal with the wreckage afterward.
“He has very little leverage here. He can demand a trade, but I think the Browns brass is like ‘Alright, yeah, sure. We’ll trade you if we want to trade you.’ … The trade demand doesn’t exactly have Cleveland shaking in their boots.”
“Baker Mayfield has very little leverage here & the trade demand definitely doesn’t have Cleveland shaking in their boots” ~@PSchrags#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/ndh2ekjhXs
— 🅿️at McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 18, 2022
With Mayfield clearly done playing in Cleveland, the Browns will now see what they can get out of their former QB in a possible trade this offseason.
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