Dan Orlovsky on Baker Mayfield: 'At some point he's going to make a general manager look very intelligent'

Former NFL quarterback turned ESPN football analyst Dan Orlovsky has been outspoken on the ongoing situation between the Cleveland Browns and their former starting quarterback Baker Mayfield. And on Monday, while a guest on the Rich Eisen Show, Orlovsky pointed out what he believes is holding up a deal to get Mayfield out of Cleveland.

“I think it’s probably two reasons,” said Orlovsky. “Number one, the finances. Teams don’t want to take any of that money and it’s weird because Cleveland you have to pay him. Whether you cut him or not, you have to pay him. And you saw the report last week no one wants to do Cleveland any favors.”

While attempting to trade away Mayfield, the Browns failed to make a deal with multiple partners. Several reports came out saying the deals failed because they did not want to pay out the full $18 million owed to their disgruntled quarterback. The other issue Orlovsky points out has more to do with the time remaining on Mayfield’s contract.

“So that and it’s (Mayfield) a one-year rental. You don’t know. What if he comes over and plays good football, or pretty good football? Are you gonna commit the money that quarterbacks are getting nowadays to him? It may be a little bit of the personality, maybe a little bit of the abrasiveness that you hear some reports about. I’ve been adamant, Rich. I don’t understand how a team didn’t send a fifth-round pick and four million bucks to Cleveland for him. But I just believe he’s a good player, and I think that at some point he’s going to get on a roster, and I think he’s going to make a general manager look very intelligent.”

Browns fail to make trade with Panther for Mayfield

The 2022 NFL Draft was filled with several eye-popping trades on days one and two. However, one of the biggest trades everyone was waiting for, the Cleveland Browns trading away disgruntled quarterback Baker Mayfield, never came to fruition. And NFL insider Ian Rapoport has an idea for why the Browns failed to trade Mayfield.

Before the draft, news circled that the Carolina Panthers would be interested in acquiring Mayfield from Cleveland. But fast forward to the Monday after the draft, and the former Heisman-winning trophy quarterback still does not have a new home. And according to Rapoport, money might have been at the root of the problem for the failed trade.

“That was a somewhat significant storyline, through the second day of the draft,” said Rapoport. “…In the end, the Browns and the Panthers could not agree to terms on a trade for Baker Mayfield. And it seemed like money, the salary was really the hold up here. How much money would each side take on? How much would the Browns agree to pay of a fully guaranteed salary? So, the Panthers did what we kind of maybe thought there was a chance they would do, they traded back in the third round they took Matt Corral and as of right now… Baker Mayfield is still on the Browns, which means he hasn’t been traded, which opens the door to many many other options including Baker Mayfield going to training camp and continuing to be with the Browns.”