The Seattle Seahawks have long been rumored as a potential suitor for Baker Mayfield since the Cleveland Browns quarterback demanded a trade. While there’s certainly nothing official in the works, there have been signs in recent days that the NFL franchise could still consider that a possibility.
The Seahawks currently have Geno Smith, Drew Lock, and Jacob Eason on their roster, having just released undrafted free agent rookie quarterback Levi Lewis. While the franchise has tried to put a brave face on moving forward with Smith or Lock as their starter in the post-Russell Wilson era, you’d be naive to assume they’re happy standing pat with those options.
Head coach Pete Carroll said in March that the Seahawks’ objective was to enter training camp with four quarterbacks.
“We are totally in that mentality that the fourth guy may be important to us,” Carroll said. “We’re definitely still in the quarterback business.”
So, in theory, you don’t cut your fourth quarterback unless you’ve got a viable option to replace him with on your training camp roster. And that’s why it’s not surprising to hear that, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, the Seahawks (and the Carolina Panthers) are still very involved in trade discussions for Mayfield.
“The Panthers and Seahawks still haven’t ruled out acquiring Mayfield, but they’ll need the Browns to take on a much greater portion of his contract than they’ve offered so far,” said Howe. “It’s unclear how far apart the sides have been, but the Browns want their contractual intake to be commensurate with the asset they receive in return.”
There’s been some speculation that the teams are all waiting for June 2 before making any moves. Doing something after that allows the Browns or any team that trades for Baker to restructure his contract using void years, pushing some of the $19M he’s owed into future seasons.
Over the weekend, an Instagram post from Mayfield’s wife seemed to imply that the couple was possible in the Seattle area. The presumption for that is based on a beer logo (SnoTown Brewery is out of Snohomish, WA, just outside of Seattle) and is by no means scientific. But if Baker were in Western Washinton to kick the tires on a certain NFL franchise, no one would be too shocked.
Outstanding detective work here. Baker Mayfield appears to be in Seattle. https://t.co/ARFepBVIIj
— Nick Pedone (@NickPedone12) May 22, 2022
