Was it a mistake to not get Mayfield?

[ElvisInBlue]

I think it will be a mistake in the end. Seattle was very interested but simply not willing to take on the same amount of Salary that Carolina was. We should have done it.

You really think it came down to 5mil??
Thats like half a TE !

I doubt they were ever really interested in Baker and hopefully the same for Sam D.

 

[GemCity]

I was totally against Mayfield for many of the reasons already listed here. In particular, he’s not the final answer at QB. Knowing now, that the plan is to grab a QB in next years draft (QB rich/deep), I’m excited to see who we pick. Loving Will Levis.

But….Carolina got a really good deal on Mayfield. Seeing what they gave up makes me wonder if we should’ve jumped on it. They didn’t even eat his salary and IF they do, it’s incentive based on team performance while the Browns still cover the majority of it. Dafuq?

By no means did we “lose” here. That goes 100% to the Browns. That deal was rather sweet for Carolina but still doesn’t make a lot of sense considering they drafted Corral as well.

Considering the deal, I had to vote we lost out here. That doesn’t mean I “wanted” him here. Just think I would’ve jumped on it.

 

[BlueTalon]

I think it's entirely possible that Mayfield has grown beyond being a talented-but-immature brat. Adversity can have that effect. And I hope for his sake he has matured.

But I'm just fine with watching how he does from the other side of the country. So no, I don't think we lost anything.

 

[Smellyman]

Everybody has a chip on their shoulder. now we are standing around like a bunch of idiots with chips on our shoulders.

 

[Rainger]

Omg has any non Hawk ever had more threads, speculation and pontification on this site in the Hawks forum than Mayfield.

Maybe I should have succumb to the we need BM hype but sorry just couldn't bring myself to get on that band wagon.

Can we move on and stop all these Baker Mayfield threads?

Please!

 

[Vesuve]

Mayfield is ineffective and for $18 mill....? Shite.

 

[Tusc2000]

Baker would have maybe gotten us a 6-7 win season, compared to the 3-4 win season we're looking at with Lock and Geno, so the upside to Baker is marginal, and the downside is he will bring his baggage, his large salary and will ultimately be a distraction. Baker isn't leading any team to a Super Bowl. Ever.

I think 2022 is a throwaway season, we'll land a top QB in the draft, and 2023 will hopefully start a new era with someone who can lead us back to glory. It's the smart move.

 

[classicaaron]

absolutely a huge mistake for what they would have had to give up. he was basically a free rental. would be a big upgrade over what they currently have for sure. if it doesnt work, who cares, cut him and move on. really it was nothing but upside on the deal. not sure what they are thinking.

 

[Lagartixa]

It might also tell us everything we need to know about the Browns FO.

OK, but no NFL teams were willing to give up more than a 2024 fifth-round or fourth-round pick (worth roughly the same as a sixth-round or fifth-round pick in next year's draft), nor pay more than $4.85M for Mayfield this year. So say what you want about the Browns, but it looks to me like NFL front offices are pretty much unanimous in seeing Mayfield as a backup-quality QB. Mayfield had to accept a pay cut to be able to play this year, because the only team desperate enough to take a chance on him wasn't willing to pay more than $4.85M in salary for him, and the Browns weren't willing to pay Mayfield more than $10.5M to play elsewhere.

 

[WarHawks]

I'm very happy they didn't get him. As a side benefit, now we won't be subject to those stupid and un-funny commercials about the stadium being his house, etc.

 

[Ozzy]

I think it was a mistake and the fact they wanted him tells me they don't have a ton of faith in Lock/Geno either. Everyone keeps mentioning this magical QB class next year but there is no guarantee they finish high enough in the draft to grab one and if not you will have to give up a ton of resources to get one with a roster that wasn't good. I think they're in a tough spot.

 

[Lagartixa]

Mayfield is ineffective and for $18 mill....? Shite.

Welcome to July. The Panthers are only going to pay $4.858M of Mayfield's salary.

That said, I'm not sure they're getting a bargain. I'm not even 100% sure Mayfield will be the starter for Carolina. It seems very likely, because as much as people overrate Mayfield around here, he hasn't been nearly as awful as Darnold, but I wouldn't make any bets on it at this point.

So I agree that it's extremely unlikely that Mayfield would be worth his $18.9M cost for this year (something close to 40% of top-QB money), and NFL front offices appear to agree with us on that, because the best deal the Browns could get was for the acquiring team to give up the equivalent of a day-three pick in next year's draft (it's actually a fifth-round or fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft) and pay almost $4.86M in salary, that is, less than 10% of top-QB money. And because the Browns were unwilling to pay Mayfield more than $10.5M to play for some other team, Mayfield actually had to take a pay cut for even that deal to happen.

If any other NFL teams actually had interest in Mayfield, he wouldn't have accepted the pay cut, so even he appears to have accepted that NFL front offices just don't see him as a good QB.

 

[Lagartixa]

I think it was a mistake and the fact they wanted him tells me they don't have a ton of faith in Lock/Geno either. Everyone keeps mentioning this magical QB class next year but there is no guarantee they finish high enough in the draft to grab one and if not you will have to give up a ton of resources to get one with a roster that wasn't good. I think they're in a tough spot.

What "fact they wanted him"? [I assume "they" refers to the Seahawks, based on the context of you mentioning Lock and Smith here]

Report: Seahawks have never had strong interest in Baker Mayfield

Quarterback Baker Mayfield remains a member of the Browns with training camp less than a month away and it doesn't sound like one team that's frequently linked to Mayfield will be swooping in to trade for him.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

 

[Aircrew]

Maybe not Mayfield in particular (although I do like him), but I think we may regret not making a serious push at another guy. I would have been happy with Mitchell Trubisky or Desmond Ridder.

Doubt I'll get much agreement on this, but I'd throw the Packers a conditional mid-rounder and see if we can pry Jordan Love away. Best case scenario, either he or Lock shows they can be the guy going forward (Geno might as well not be on the team as far as I'm concerned). If not, we're not out much of anything. Pretty low-risk.

I could get behind this. Wouldn't be the first time we nabbed our future qb from the packers..

 

[SoulfishHawk]

The draft pick is in 2024, and Carolina isn't on the hook for hardly any of that 18 mil. Solid trade for them. That team just got better, while the Hawks are going with two guys who are average AT BEST.

 

[Ozzy]

What "fact they wanted him"? [I assume "they" refers to the Seahawks, based on the context of you mentioning Lock and Smith here]

Report: Seahawks have never had strong interest in Baker Mayfield

Quarterback Baker Mayfield remains a member of the Browns with training camp less than a month away and it doesn't sound like one team that's frequently linked to Mayfield will be swooping in to trade for him.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Yeah the Seahawks. They were in on him at least a little until the end. If they didn't want him why were they negotiating with them up until the end? Multiple people disagree with Ian R on this including people much closer to the team. I'm critical of Pete but he was right to be interested. It fits his mantra of being in on everything and always competing

 

[ElvisInBlue]

absolutely a huge mistake for what they would have had to give up. he was basically a free rental. would be a big upgrade over what they currently have for sure. if it doesnt work, who cares, cut him and move on. really it was nothing but upside on the deal. not sure what they are thinking.

Baker is the very definition of a half measure.

 

[BlueTalon]

I think it was a mistake and the fact they wanted him tells me they don't have a ton of faith in Lock/Geno either. Everyone keeps mentioning this magical QB class next year but there is no guarantee they finish high enough in the draft to grab one and if not you will have to give up a ton of resources to get one with a roster that wasn't good. I think they're in a tough spot.

Where are you getting this from? The fact that they didn't make a move on Mayfield tells me they didn't want him. Whatever they might have been willing to spend on him was certainly less that what the Panthers ended up paying, which was close to nothing. The Seahawks weren't interested. I think the Seahawks do have faith in Lock/Geno.

 

[Maelstrom787]

absolutely a huge mistake for what they would have had to give up. he was basically a free rental. would be a big upgrade over what they currently have for sure. if it doesnt work, who cares, cut him and move on. really it was nothing but upside on the deal. not sure what they are thinking.

It was "nothing but upside" if you play the game on a spreadsheet, sure - but real life team dynamics are a bit different.

 

[Ozzy]

Where are you getting this from? The fact that they didn't make a move on Mayfield tells me they didn't want him. Whatever they might have been willing to spend on him was certainly less that what the Panthers ended up paying, which was close to nothing. The Seahawks weren't interested. I think the Seahawks do have faith in Lock/Geno.

Multiple people have reported the Seahawks were in talks with them, one person has disputed that. Multiple people with ties to the team have said they were at least somewhat interested. Maybe it was at a much lower cost than what Carolina gave but they were interested nonetheless. It appears that Seattle and Caroline were the only two.

Assuming that's true, and it is, then it tells me they aren't completely sold on Geno/Lock and that's a good thing. There is zero reason to be 100% sold on either one at this point. There is zero chance Pete isn't a little concerned even if he sees massive upside in Lock, he has to produce and make it a reality.