The Seattle Seahawks have been linked to embattled Cleveland Browns signal caller Baker Mayfield ever since they stunningly traded star quarterback Russell Wilson earlier in the offseason.
For head coach Pete Carroll and Co., this seemed to make a lot of sense. Mayfield would come cheap in terms of compensation heading to Cleveland after they traded for Deshaun Watson. Meanwhile, giving the former No. 1 pick a one-year sample size to prove himself in the Pacific Northwest could light a fire under Mayfield.
The backdrop here is a Seahawks team stuck between initiating a long-term rebuild and complete irrelevence around the NFL after trading its franchie quarterback.
Apparently, there’s absolutely no interest from the Seattle Seahawks in acquiring Baker Mayfield from Cleveland.
“The Seahawks have been telling me from Day 1 they have no interest in Baker Mayfield. They’re riding Drew Lock, which we can talk about that another time. That’s their choice.”
ESPN’s Dianna Russini on Seattle Seahawks QB plans
The interesting dynamic here is that these Seahawks are willing to trust Lock as their starting quaterback in 2022.
- Drew Lock stats (career): 59% completion, 4,740 yards, 25 TD, 20 INT, 79.3 rating
Most figured that Lock was a throw-in in the deal that sent Wilson to the Broncos. Despite his lack of success in three seasons with the Broncos, the Seahawks’ brass doesn’t view him that way.
“I love the potential. We loved the guy (Drew Lock) coming out. I’m liking him in our culture and the way we’re going to approach things. We’re gonna support this kid and give him every opportunity to find the best he has to offer. I think he’s really going to take to it. We’ll see how far it goes.”
Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll on Drew Lock following the 2022 NFL Draft, via NFL.com
These comments came after Seattle failed to add a single quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft. Right now, it’s going to be Lock competing against Geno Smith rather than the Seahawks opting to trade for Baker Mayfield.
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Seattle Seahawks must know they are in rebuild mode
You don’t trot out a quarterback like Lock without understanding behind the scenes that being competitive in 2022 isn’t going to be the name of the game. This is especially true with Seattle having to go up against two teams that competed in the NFC Championship Game last season in that of the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
For the Seahawks, this seems to make some sense. A former second-round pick out of Missouri, Lock showed promise as a rookie for the Broncos back in 2019 before struggling each of the past two seasons. Perhaps, a change of scenery and a new offense will do him well.
If not, the Seahawks will have two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft to potentially find that long-term solution under center. Next year’s draft is also seen as a much better iteration when it comes to the quarterback position.
Related: 2023 NFL mock draft
Where does the Seattle Seahawks lack of interest leave Baker Mayfield?
Cleveland remains steadfast in wanting to move Mayfield and his $18.9 million price tag for the 2022 season. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anything is close on this end.
The Browns were said to be talking to other teams during the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas last weekend. Nothing came to fruition.
There’s rumors that the Carolina Panthers might have interest in both Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo after they added Matt Corral in the mid rounds of the draft. We’re just not too sure if anything is going to happen ahead of training camp.
Last season saw Mayfield regress big time after a stellar 2020 campaign. He threw just 17 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in 14 starts.