Browns finally trade Mayfield, send quarterback to Panthers

Baker Mayfield’s wild four-year ride in Cleveland is over.

The No. 1 overall pick in 2018, Mayfield was traded Wednesday by the Browns, who moved on from the divisive quarterback months ago and finally sent him to the Carolina Panthers for a future draft pick.

Mayfield, who was pushed out of his starting job amid the Browns’ pursuit of Deshaun Watson, is going to Carolina for a conditional draft pick in 2024 or 2025.

The Browns are paying $10.5 million of Mayfield’s $18.8 million contract for next season, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The Panthers will pay $4.8 million and Mayfield will take a $3.5 million pay cut, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade can’t be finalized until Mayfield passes a physical.

Mayfield can earn back some of the money through incentives. Also, if he plays 70% of Carolina’s snaps next season, the pick the Browns are receiving will be a fourthrounder in 2024.

The trade was announced by both the Browns and Panthers, who coincidentally will meet in next season’s opener in Charlotte, a matchup spiced up by Mayfield switching teams.

Mayfield’s time with the Browns effectively ended in March when the team traded three first-round selections and six overall to the Houston Texans for Watson, who is facing a possible National Football League suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Watson has been accused of sexual misconduct by two dozen massage therapists in Texas. The league’s disciplinary officer is expected to rule on Watson before the Browns open training camp later this month.

Mayfield, who played most of last season with a left shoulder injury, felt betrayed by Cleveland’s move for Watson, demanded a trade and then had to wait until the Browns found a team both interested in him and willing to take on his salary.

Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam thanked Mayfield for his contributions.

“From the moment he was drafted, he gave his all for this organization and this city,” they said. “With his fierce competitive spirit, he excited the fanbase and accomplished things that no player at his position had done in Cleveland for a very long time. He also made a difference in the community, whether it was hosting events at the Boys and Girls Club, honoring our troops, supporting the Special Olympics as well as countless other charitable endeavors.”

The 27-year-old will compete for Carolina’s starting quarterback job with Sam Darnold, who was taken two picks after Mayfield in 2018.