MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK

Report: Seahawks have ‘high-level of interest’ in Baker Mayfield



The unknowns surrounding the Cleveland Browns quarterback room is, perhaps, the biggest storylines on the field in the NFL at this point in the offseason. Deshaun Watson’s legal issues have had some updates but he still faces four civil charges and possible NFL discipline.

The team’s starting quarterback for the last three plus seasons, Baker Mayfield, also has an unknown future. Despite the possibility of a lengthy suspension for Watson, it seems unlikely that the Browns or Mayfield would want to stay together in 2022.

The Carolina Panthers have seemed to have the most interest in acquiring the former Heisman Trophy winner despite a deal falling through during the NFL draft.

The other team that made sense was the Seattle Seahawks. The current competition between Drew Lock and Geno Smith is underwhelming. According to Josina Anderson, the Seahawks are indeed very interested in Mayfield:



At one point, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll indicated that the team was unlikely to add another veteran quarterback but that public talk doesn’t mean much.

A deal for Mayfield would upgrade the Seahawks passing game and, perhaps, give D.K. Metcalf more of a reason to sign a long-term deal. It is interesting that Anderson notes they may have an interest in doing an extension if they add Mayfield as well.

For now, much like the Panthers rumors, nothing matters until a deal gets done. For now, Mayfield and the Browns are still tied together.

BROWNS WIRE

 

Ive also read that the Browns are willing to take on 50% of whats owed Mayfield if the QB is dealt somewhere... thats according to a report on SI.

 

I absolutely loved that he followed that up with the team not devoting the financial resources they used to to the QB position and how they have been able to spread the wealth financially.

 

Steelers sign Kenny Pickett to rookie deal



The Steelers have their quarterback of the future under contract.

Pittsburgh has signed first-round pick Kenny Pickett to his rookie deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.


Pickett was the 20th overall pick of this year’s draft and received a standard four-year deal. The Steelers will decide on his fifth-year option for 2026 in the spring of 2025.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin recently said on The Pivot Podcast that he’s “excited about being uncomfortable” at quarterback with the competition between Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph. For all of Tomlin’s tenure, the Steelers had entered training camp with Ben Roethlisberger as the team’s QB1.

Pickett was regarded as the most pro-ready quarterback in the draft. He was the only signal-caller selected in the first round in 2022. Desmond Ridder was the next QB off the board to the Falcons in the third round.

With Pickett signing his deal, all of this year’s first-round picks are now under contract well before the start of training camp.

PFT

 

Report: Settlement talks between NFL, NFLPA, and Deshaun Watson “fell apart”



Last week, we pointed out that a negotiated resolution of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s discipline was possible, but not likely. The problem was that Watson, as of last week, was determined to clear his name.

With Watson settling 20 of the 24 cases pending against him, that possibly will lay the foundation for a settlement between the league, the union, and Watson.


Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reports that negotiations have indeed occurred. However, talks “fell apart” regarding the extent of the punishment.

Negotiated discipline is not unprecedented. The outcome is announced as the punishment being final, with the player waiving his appeal rights.

Complicating matters for Watson is the fact that there’s no precedent for the new procedure that starts with the NFL proposing a punishment, continues with an independent Disciplinary Officer setting the discipline, if any, and the Commissioner having jurisdiction over any appeal from the player or the team. Unless the Disciplinary Officer decides to impose no discipline at all, Goodell gets the final crack at determining the punishment.

The best outcome for Watson would be to settle everything. Settle the lawsuits. Settle the discipline. Serve the suspension. And then come back, play good football, win games, stay out of trouble, and in time much of this incident will be forgotten. Just like it was for Ben Roethlisberger.

PFT

 

I can’t see this. 24 lawsuits against him and he wants to negotiate his punishment. They need to carry this into more than one season. If they gave him one game for every instance it would be 24 games. That should be the bottom line.

 

It's moreso the NFLPA negotiating on his behalf. It's in their best interest to negotiate on behalf of the membership, not necessarily one member. They are negotiating for future issues, just as much as the one at hand.

 

The fact he agreed to settle after insisting he would not could be an indicator he is beginning to jump through hoops that the nfl is laying out for him.

 

Negotiated suspension of Deshaun Watson seems very unlikely at this point



The NFL, the NFL Players Association, and Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson reportedly were discussing the terms of a negotiated suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy. Those talks reportedly “fell apart.” It’s not believed that they’ll be put back together.

Per a league source, the current expectation is that the NFL will propose a suspension on Watson, and that the case will proceed to arbitration, with the Disciplinary Officer presiding. Commissioner Roger Goodell would then have final say over any appeal, filed by either side.


Multiple factors have made a negotiated resolution difficult to achieve. First, the league can’t afford to create the impression that it was too lenient with Watson. If the NFL, the NFLPA, and Watson reach an agreement on a suspension that would be regarded as acceptable to everyone, the end result could be viewed as insufficient by media and fans. To satisfy those who would criticize the league for being too soft, the league needs to propose a lengthy suspension. A settlement possibly could reached after that. If that happens, the league will have still made a clear, strong statement of significant punishment on Watson.

Second, the union possibly will argue, under Article 46 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, that there can be only one punishment of Watson for the same conduct — even if he continues to be accused of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions by previously unknown plaintiffs. This potentially will compel the league to impose an even longer suspension to account for the possibility of additional claims.

Although Article 46 could be interpreted to allow Watson to be disciplined for the cases that already have been filed and to punish him again for new cases that may emerge, the league may not want to assume the risk of a future suspension being scrapped due to a technicality. But waiting for all statutes of limitations to expire isn’t an acceptable alternative, especially if Watson resolves the other four pending lawsuits.

That said, a settlement as to the suspension could leave the door open for future punishment, if new claims emerge. This leads the league back to the original problem. Any settlement reached before the league proposes a suspension could create the impression that the league didn’t do enough — and it was the impression that the league didn’t due enough to Ray Rice that almost brought down the whole operation in 2014.

So perhaps the best chance for a settlement will come after the league proposes a lengthy suspension, with an agreement that the door will remain open if other lawsuits are filed in the future.

PFT

 

24 games would be fair, considering they don’t seem to want to permanently ban him.

 

Although, I actually agree with you.. There is no way it is going to be 24 games. My guess is it will be the 2022 season, appeal, 10 games. Which, imho, is too little, but more likely.

 

Bingo. It's all a bad look for the NFL. The league wants this story to go away. If DW took all of these cases to court, how long would this remain in the headlines? I wouldn't be surprised at all if the league strongly encouraged him to settle as many of these cases as he can.

 

lol. Most fans from opposing AFC North teams would like to see more than a season long suspension, but I agree with TD and Irish that it will probably be the 2022 season. In my opinion, if a suspension is the punishment of choice, a season long suspension is probably long enough to appease the proponents of a Watson punishment.

The NFL wants this over, the Browns fans and team want this over and I want this over... quite frankly, its been a sickening story and situation.

One thing that I dont know about and havnt heard discussed, is there just a fine involved if DW is found guilty in the 4 remaining cases that havnt settled? Is this a crime that has potential jail time? I kinda know if this were me doing these creepy things, id never have a job to begin with, fined up the ying yang and maybe a stint behind bars... I dont know. I was just curious if this is just misdemeanor stuff or can a court do something even more substantial? Im not privy to what exactly 'sexual misconduct' can actually get you in a court of law. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

 

I disagree completely with those that believe there will be a reduction after an appeal. In fact, I think that is something you can almost 100% rule out. What motivation would Goodell have to reduce a suspension handed down by a 3rd party? Especially, in a case involving sexual assault?

That is the one thing I believe you can take off the table. If Goodell were to make a change to the punishment handed down it would only be to increase it, in my opinion. It would make the statement that the NFL is taking a hard stance on sexual assault.

 

I could see a scenario where the Judge Sue Robinson imposes a year suspension and Goodell follows with, "Nope, not enough. Let's make it two years."

 

All four are civil only. There have yet to be any criminal charges so there is no jail time on the table. If Deshaun were to go to court and lose a jury would award compensation that they see as appropriate.

It will be interesting to see what happens. Logic suggests that the remaining 4 cases will get settled but at least one victim has stated she doesn't want money, she wants the dirty laundry aired. If she is true to her word it will go to court and the league will have to deal with this as long as it takes for that process.

Presumably, if Watson is suspended for the 2022 season his lawyer will try to get a trial over with during his suspension so that everyone can move on prior to the 2023 season.

 

Keep your fingers crossed...

 

I actually prefer he plays. I want the Browns to have to navigate around that contract and I don't believe he's as good as others believe him to be. Top ten for sure, and way better than Baker but many of his accolades have come from airing the ball out behind two scores.

 

Whether it was appealed too or mutually agreed upon, I've thought probably 8 to 10 games all along, but all the chatter lately of a full season is concerning....Pretty sure we will find out here in the next week or two.

 

The reasoning is because the NFLPA will be fighting rigorously to reduce it. It could be a bargaining chip for something else… say an 18th game, etc. they are going to fight it even harder than Watson individually will. They have more power than he does.