The Steelers seemingly left the door open to acquire another quarterback when they signed Mitchell Trubisky last week to a low-cost deal.
Enter Baker Mayfield?
Respected Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot reports the Steelers would “pounce” on Mayfield if he becomes available. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick’s days in Cleveland are over following its blockbuster acquisition of Desaun Watson. Mayfield has already even penned a “thank you” letter to Browns fans.
On “The Fan Morning Show” Wednesday, Cabot expounded on her report.
“That’s the way it was put to me by an NFL personnel executive: watch for the Steelers to become interested in the event he would get cut loose,” she said. “The problem with that is, the Browns really don’t have any intentions of doing that at this point. They’re trying to trade him, and if they don’t get a taker, if I were the Cleveland Browns — I don’t think they really want to do this — but I would wait and hang onto Baker Mayfield until a quarterback gets injured at some point in OTAs or minicamp or training camp or even a little beyond that into the season. Trade him to someone who desperately needs a starting quarterback.”
Given the unlikelihood of Cleveland trading Mayfield within the division, the Steelers would probably only be able to land the former Heisman winner if he hit the open market. The Browns would endure a brutal $18.8 million dead cap hit if they trade or cut Mayfield.
But that’s a small tax to pay for Watson’s brilliance.
Mayfield struggled with injuries last season, going 6-8 in 14 starts and completing just 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His subpar performance followed a career campaign in 2020, in which he threw for 3,563 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight picks.
The Browns beat the Steelers twice that season, including in the playoffs. It was Cleveland’s first win in Pittsburgh since 2003.
“I think once [Mayfield] gets into the right situation, he can play winning football,” Cabot said. “I watched it happen here with him. I still have witnessed him make throws that a lot of quarterbacks can’t even make. Once he gets himself together and gets into the right situation, I still think he can play winning football.”
We’ll see if that place is Pittsburgh. Given the apparent lack of interest in Mayfield, the Browns could hold onto him until training camp, when more quarterbacks are likely to get hurt.
This saga could carry on for months.
Listen to the full interview here: