Report: AFC team would immediately sign Baker Mayfield if Browns cut him

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns have had enormous difficulty trying to trade Baker Mayfield, but one team is waiting and watching in case he is ultimately released.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington said on Wednesday’s edition of “Get Up!” that Mayfield would quickly join the Pittsburgh Steelers if he were released.

“If the Browns cut Baker Mayfield…He would sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers the very next day,” Darlington said, via Troy L. Smith of Cleveland.com.

The Browns may not be willing to trade Mayfield to Pittsburgh, as the two teams are division rivals. The Steelers are also unlikely to be willing or able to take on Mayfield’s current contract, with the quarterback owed just shy of $19 million in 2022.

Cleveland’s preference would still be to trade Mayfield. Interest there is more muted, though one team appears to be keeping an eye on the situation.