NFL Executives Still Believe Baker Mayfield Could Land with Lions

The Detroit Lions continue to be brought up as a potential landing spot for quarterback Baker Mayfield.
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As mandatory minicamps and organized team activities wind down, ESPN took a straw poll of league executives, coaches and agents to explore what they believe will happen with quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garappolo.

A factor likely holding up Mayfield moving on from the Cleveland Browns to his next team is his contract. 

The Browns did decide to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. 

As a result, they are on the hook for his $18.858 million salary in 2022, even if they decide to release him. 

Teams are requesting the Browns pay a large chunk of his salary this upcoming season in order to make a deal. 

The leverage that league general managers have is the longer this plays out with Mayfield on the Browns' roster, the more likely it is he will simply be released. Any team would then sign him to a reasonable contract. 

The Seattle Seahawks are the team that most believe will make a run at Mayfield. 

A name that continues to pop up among those polled as an "outside-the-box" location for Mayfield is the Detroit Lions.

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© Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

As writer Dan Graziano explains, "Former Browns general manager John Dorsey, who selected Mayfield at the top of the 2018 draft, is now part of the Detroit front office. He's not the GM, but if he were to stump on Mayfield's behalf, is it ridiculous to think Mayfield could come in and compete with Jared Goff? Or replace Goff after this year?"

Quarterback Jared Goff is earning north of $30 million this season, but could be on his way out of Motown after this season, if he does not live up to expectations. 

The team is giving him the best opportunity to succeed, as it has added multiple offensive weapons and features an offensive line that is expected to perform at a high level. 

If and when Mayfield is released, it will be quite intriguing to observe which teams make a play for his services. 


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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!