3 things holding back a Baker Mayfield trade

A few things stand between the Seattle Seahawks trading for Baker Mayfield this offseason.

It just might be the Seattle Seahawks who end up trading for Baker Mayfield well before Week 1.

Mayfield is still under contract with the Cleveland Browns for a little over $18.85 million this NFL season. This is because Cleveland extended the fifth-year option to the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner out of Oklahoma. While it does not seem likely that Mayfield will ever play another snap for the Browns, he is still on their roster … for now. Keep an eye on Seattle potentially trading for him.

For Mayfield to be dealt to the Seahawks, Cleveland will need clarity on three important issues.

Seattle Seahawks: 3 things holding back a potential Baker Mayfield trade

3. Seattle Seahawks may have to free up cap space to trade for Baker Mayfield

While there is not a huge discrepancy between what Mayfield is owed for 2022 and what Seattle has available to give him, trading for the Browns quarterback would technically put the Seahawks over the cap. Though one can assume the Browns will eat a chunk of his annual salary, Seattle has about $16.77 million in available space. They have to make the dollars and cents make sense first.

Let’s be honest. The Seahawks are not going to willingly put themselves over the cap to trade for a fourth quarterback on their roster. Who is to say another signal-caller is going Cleveland’s way in a hypothetical deal with Seattle? Plus, another important factor of note is the Seahawks cannot afford to burn through all of their available cap space before the regular season even gets here.

In theory, one would think there would be a corresponding move or two to free up enough space to take on whatever percentage of Mayfield’s contract Seattle takes on. Currently, every NFL team but the New England Patriots is either above or approaching $4 million in available space. Seattle would probably want that amount of space in addition to whatever it takes to trade for Mayfield.

Simply put, the Seahawks cannot just trade for Mayfield, as they have to be mindful of their cap.