The Cleveland Browns made multiple trades this offseason that will drastically change their offense. They acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper in what was a salary dump by the Dallas Cowboys. Their biggest splash came when they acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans.
Watson will be taking over as their starting quarterback, replacing Baker Mayfield. Mayfield was entering his fifth season in the NFL, but the Browns decided that he is no longer the answer under center.
It is widely assumed that he will be traded at some point. The Browns signed Jacoby Brissett to be the backup for Watson, so there is no need for Mayfield on the roster. There are a few teams that could be interested in adding the former No. 1 pick, one of which is the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle traded away their franchise quarterback this offseason, sending Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. They received a boatload of picks as they are embarking on a bit of a rebuild. That has led to many questions about the future of star wide receiver, D.K. Metcalf.
Metcalf is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will be looking for a massive contract in 2023. Seattle has not taken calls on him recently, but that could certainly change. They took a similar stance on Wilson and he was traded a few months later.
Is there a deal to be made between the Browns and Seahawks centered around players in the final year of their deal? Over at ESPN, they put together some trade packages for teams interested in acquiring Metcalf. The Browns were one of those teams, as they could offer Mayfield and a 2023 second-round pick for Metcalf.
In this exercise, the trade proposal was declined by the Seahawks, and rightfully so. Mayfield carries a large cap hit this season at $19 million, so unless he is the unquestioned starter, that is a lot of money to take on. While many believe he would be the starter in Seattle, the organization is reportedly high on Drew Lock and wants to give him a shot.
A second-round pick doesn’t come close to what Seattle is looking for either. Two first-round picks, or at least something equivalent to that, is what they were seeking. A future second-round pick wouldn’t move the needle for Seattle, as they would be better off re-signing Metcalf, who may be their best player right now.
Cleveland would love to pair Metcalf with Cooper, giving Watson two legitimate No. 1 receivers to target. However, they will have to come with a much stronger effort to pique the Seahawks’ interest despite including a potential starting quarterback in Mayfield.
