Why these 4 teams won’t trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

Why Browns won’t trade for Jimmy Garoppolo

The Browns’ situation with Baker Mayfield was irreparable, which makes sense. Even in light of the possibility Deshaun Watson could face a year-long suspension in light of all those allegations of off-field sexual misconduct.

There’s a good chance the Niners are closely monitoring that situation, particularly knowing a would-be suspension would leave Cleveland without a starting quarterback.

And as Niner Noise’s own Jeremy Wohlfart pointed out, the Browns’ salary-cap situations in 2022 compared to 2023 essentially make this season a win-now one, while next year will be awfully challenging:

"The Browns enjoy more than double the cap space of any other team after the Mayfield trade, and while they’re on the hook for most of the money to convince Carolina to deal for Mayfield, they’re still almost $50 million in the black at the time of writing. However, in 2023, this takes a sudden turn as Cleveland will have the third-worst cap room at over $30 million over the cap. … In short, they’ll need to make serious cuts, and they’ll be coming after this year. They pushed their chips into the middle of the table and suddenly found they don’t have the winning hand amid Watson’s uncertainty."

It might come down to whether or not the Browns trust Watson’s presumed backup for the time being, Jacoby Brissett. But the kicker, knowing Cleveland just paid part of Mayfield’s salary to “go away,” is it smart fiscal business to essentially be paying three starting-caliber quarterback salaries over the course of 2022?

Probably not. And if the Browns do feel comfortable enough with Brissett, there’s your answer.