Inside Baker Mayfield's split with the Cleveland Browns

Editor's note: This was originally published May 5 and has been updated after Wednesday's news the Browns have traded Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers.

BEREA, Ohio — The NFL draft came and went, and quarterback Baker Mayfield was still a member of the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns couldn't swing a trade with the Carolina Panthers at the time, and according to multiple sources, never got close. As talks intensified during the second round, sources said Carolina wanted Cleveland to pay a significant portion of Mayfield's guaranteed $19 million salary next season. The Browns balked and Carolina traded up into the third round to draft Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral.

The trade talks resumed this offseason and Baker was traded to the Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional draft pick, a source confirmed to ESPN. The Panthers will pay $4.85 million of Mayfield's salary while the Browns will pay $10.5 million. The deal is pending a physical.

In 2018, Mayfield arrived in Cleveland, a city that has been searching for a franchise quarterback since the Bernie Kosar era of the 1980s, with enormous fanfare. But after quarterbacking the Browns to their first playoff victory in 26 years in 2020, his standing with the front office and locker room declined. Struggles on the field, a messy split with receiver Odell Beckham Jr. that divided the team, quarterback Deshaun Watson's willingness to waive his no-trade clause to join Cleveland, and a perceived slight from the Browns' front office all contributed to effectively end Mayfield's time in Cleveland, pushing both sides to seek a fresh start.

In March, the Browns traded for Watson. Since March 16, 2021, 25 lawsuits have been filed against Watson, alleging sexual