Browns trade chatter: Cleveland destination for Matt Stafford?

In Browns trade chatter, one writer made the case for Matt Stafford to be the next QB.

At least when the Dwayne Haskins trade chatter started surrounding the Browns, Cleveland was coming off a loss.

But now there’s Matt Stafford talk following a victory, with the Browns sitting at 8-3.

The Athletic’s Mike Sando admitted it seems “odd on the surface” to replace a quarterback who has his team five games over .500. However, like the rest of us, he’s not sure Baker Mayfield has what it takes to make Cleveland not a playoff contender, but a Super Bowl championship contender.

"“Stafford could,” Sando wrote. Coach Kevin Stefanski would know the Lions’ QB well from his own days in NFC North. The Browns have the offensive line and run game that Stafford hasn’t had in Detroit, and that he could use as he transitions into the latter part of his career.”"

One executive wondered if Cleveland’s analytically driven front office would give up the draft capital and salary space to Stafford “without an obvious connection to him.” To that, Sando argues that the current Browns regime really doesn’t have all that much invested in Mayfield.

Andrew Berry was on John Dorsey’s staff when Mayfield was picked first overall in 2018, but it was Dorsey’s pick to make.

Perhaps it’s a case of wanting what you can’t have, but the idea of adding Stafford is tantalizing. The Browns have invested so much in the offense–especially in the last year–that you’d like to see someone with Stafford’s skillset be put in a position to succeed with the weapons around him.

While it’s interesting to talk about, it’s too soon to rule on Mayfield. I thought he played well against the Jags, but his detractors will point to his glaring misses, especially on an errant throw to Rashard Higgins in the end zone.

The book on Mayfield will be judged by how he plays his AFC North rivals, and whether or not he not just get the Browns into the playoffs, but wins there, too. Winning in January is what gets a quarterback that lucrative second contract.

Stafford is 32 and carries a cap number of $33 million next season and $26 million in 2022. He’s had just three winning seasons as a Lion since being taken No. 1 overall in 2009. He owns a career mark of 73-86-1. He’s thrown 274 touchdowns against 142 interceptions.