Opinion

The 2022 NFL draft featured trades with star wide receivers A.J. Brown and Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, but the three-day event came and went with two available veteran quarterbacks still without a new home. Neither the Cleveland Browns' Baker Mayfield nor the San Francisco 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo were traded. For Mayfield and the Browns, the question is: Where do both parties go from here?

The Browns' bold move to trade for Deshaun Watson and give him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract created significant shrapnel for Mayfield, fans and NFL owners. At least on the ownership front, it's not surprising that Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was irritated that negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson could become more complicated after this record, precedent-setting deal. It's also understandable for Browns fans to be uncertain about the team's willingness to invest in Watson as 22 civil lawsuits of sexual assault and misconduct have yet to be decided. 

Mayfield is in a different boat. He understandably felt "disrespected" by the Browns' decision to pursue Watson and said on the Ya Neva Know podcast that the team didn't communicate its intentions to him. The Browns told Mayfield's agent they'd only pursue an upgrade over Baker if they could land one, and maybe Mayfield didn't see Watson as an upgrade.  

Regardless, the writing is on the wall that Mayfield's time in Cleveland should come to an end sooner than later. His $18.9 million salary is an albatross on Cleveland's cap sheet, and Mayfield wants an opportunity to find a long-term starting role in 2022. NFL draft weekend was the last major milestone before training camp kicks off in mid-to-late July.

After both the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers passed on quarterbacks in the first two rounds, it seemed plausible the Browns may have two clear suitors left for Mayfield. However, the Panthers opted to invest the 94th overall pick in Ole Miss passer Matt Corral. Carolina can still afford Mayfield, but the team has already sunk the 226th overall pick in the 2021 draft and the 38th, 94th and 111th overall picks in the 2022 class on Sam Darnold and Corral. 

If Carolina ever wanted Baker, it wasn't enough to pay whatever Cleveland wanted. Cleveland may have had to eat most of Mayfield's salary and take a late Day 3 pick. Per Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto, the Panthers believed Cleveland had little leverage, and they're right.

Meanwhile, Seattle opted against taking a quarterback at all and remains a potential fit for Mayfield. With first-round tackle Charles Cross fulfilling their huge need for a blindside blocker, the Seahawks now have a stronger surrounding cast to entice the veteran. Mayfield's deep-passing prowess and willingness to give his targets a chance to win one-on-one mesh well with Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Seattle can also offer one of the best run games in the league. Rushers Chris Carson, Kenneth Walker III and Rashaad Penny make up one of the deeper backfields in the NFL. This should be attractive to Mayfield since much of Cleveland's own success stemmed from a productive set of ball-carriers.

Other uncertain quarterback rooms around the league exist, but it's hard to imagine teams like Houston, the New York Giants or even the Pittsburgh Steelers wanting to move an asset for Mayfield unless his salary is covered by the Browns. Teams are almost always willing to wait until a player is released, when they know they're no longer on the hook.

Mayfield could realistically compete for a starting job for at least 10 teams. The remaining teams either have clearly better options or a young talent who will start no matter what. Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Washington, Tennessee, New Orleans and Pittsburgh have varying levels of uncertainty at the position. However, we just saw the Steelers take Kenny Pickett in the first round and the Titans, Panthers and Falcons invest a third-rounder in a rookie, so they may be out.

Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans each also effectively passed on Mayfield before. Houston could have asked for him in return for Watson. Atlanta and New Orleans signed veterans Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, respectively, after the Watson trade instead of making a play for Mayfield.

The Browns' best strategy is to simply wait. There's no financial upside in releasing Mayfield now and allowing him to bolt for their rival in Pittsburgh. At least the Browns can regain some leverage in trade discussions if an injury occurs between now and the start of the regular season. 

San Francisco is also lurking to find such leverage with Garoppolo. Having another veteran on the market complicates things for Cleveland. Garoppolo is coming off shoulder surgery but is regarded as the better player and is beloved within the 49ers locker room. 

Mayfield has called out teammates several times, including Duke Johnson in 2019 and again on the YNK podcast when he lamented that some teammates are motivated by money. He may not be wrong, but the locker room political game matters, and Mayfield has shown immaturity when given the chance to earn his teammates' unwavering support. Concern over Baker's on-field inconsistency and off-field immaturity is heightened when compared to Garoppolo's winning resume and locker room leadership.

In retrospect, maybe Browns general manager Andrew Berry should've quickly moved Mayfield as soon as Watson announced his decision to waive his no-trade clause for Cleveland—or even asked Watson for a small window to trade Mayfield before news of the blockbuster broke. At the time, Indianapolis had not yet traded for Matt Ryan, so there was another potential destination for Mayfield.

Seattle appears to be the best landing spot for Mayfield to walk into as a starter. It's hard to imagine the 49ers trading Garoppolo within the division to their rival in the Pacific Northwest. Cleveland may not get much in return, but the alternatives for now are bleak.

The Golden State Warriors escaped Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals with a 117-116 road win over the Memphis Grizzlies, but they had to overcome a little controversy to do it.

With just over a minute left in the second quarter, Draymond Green went up to contest a Brandon Clarke shot attempt at the rim. Green wound up, hit Clarke in the face and then grabbed a handful of jersey as both headed toward the floor.

After a lengthy review, but before the decision was announced to the crowd and broadcast, Green galloped off the floor and down the tunnel toward his team's locker room.

He was given a flagrant-2 foul (which necessitates an ejection), and the implications were potentially massive.

Golden State was down six at the half, but Green was a plus-two and was on borderline triple-double watch, with six points, four boards, three assists and three steals.

Without Green's ability to defend both the paint and the perimeter, Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr. had 19 points and five threes in the second half alone. Green may not have spent the entire two quarters on JJJ, but he certainly would've been an option to slow him down.

His playmaking on the other end was missed too. Green finished with a 118.9 offensive rating (meaning the Warriors scored that many points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor), a mark that comfortably cleared Klay Thompson's 109.1 and Stephen Curry's 107.3.

His impact on Game 1 was a microcosm of what it's been throughout his career. Golden State's point differential has been better with Green on the floor in eight of the last nine seasons. And the intensity (which borders on reckless abandon) with which he plays has generally been there too.

In 2016, Green infamously lost his cool when LeBron James stepped over him in Game 4 of the Finals. Green took a swipe and was given a flagrant foul two days later after review from the league office. The flagrant eclipsed the threshold necessary to earn a suspension.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, of course, went on to win the Game 5 that Green missed and erase a 3-1 deficit on the way to winning the Finals.

"The one thing, when I look back on it, that bothers me is I would've been the Finals MVP," Green told J.J. Redick of the incident on The Old Man and the Three. "And that totally changes the narrative."

Well, after Game 1 of this series, the narrative may be back. And it'll get louder if Draymond collects a couple more flagrant points and gets suspended at exactly the wrong time again.

Golden State is just six games into this playoff run, and this isn't his first flirtation with ref-levied discipline.

In the first round against the Denver Nuggets, he landed a shot to Nikola Jokic's eye that would've made Ric Flair proud.

He also attempted to hit Aaron Gordon with a double-leg takedown after taking offense to a dunk after the whistle.

Green avoided flagrant points on those two plays, but Sunday showed that the tally can be prone to the "you win some, you lose some" philosophy. He may have gotten away with some stuff against Denver, but Sunday's penalty felt overly harsh. To say the audience generally disagreed with the penalty would be an understatement.

Trae Young, Damian Lillard and more took to Twitter to rip the decision.

But unless a tweetstorm convinces the league to downgrade the flagrant, Green is now halfway to that suspension. He has two "flagrant points." Two more (which could come in the form of two flagrant-1s or one flagrant-2) and he'll have to sit a game.

Missing Sunday's second half didn't lead to a loss. As Steve Kerr explained after the game, the steadiness of Kevon Looney and the increased space that came with Curry and Thompson playing more minutes with Jordan Poole helped Golden State outscore Memphis by seven in the final two frames.

But that's not a typical result for the Warriors without Green. They were 34-12 with him in the lineup and 19-17 without him this regular season. And they didn't exactly win Game 1 without him in convincing fashion.

Curry is the generational talent, but Green has often operated as Golden State's engine on both ends of the floor.

We'll tab 2014-15 as the unofficial start of the Warriors lightyears dynasty. And since the beginning of that campaign (regular and postseason combined), the team is plus-14.2 points per 100 possessions when both Curry and Green are on the floor, compared to plus-7.9 when Curry plays without Green.

His playmaking on both ends of the floor, willingness and ability to guard all five positions and the intensity that sometimes leads him to early exits takes the Warriors from great to all-timer.

He has to be available to bring all of that to the game, though. And from now until whenever this playoff run ends, he has to find the balance between intense and reckless.

Otherwise, he may find himself talking about regrets in another future podcast appearance.

Stats via NBA.com and PBP Stats unless otherwise noted. 

There's little doubt now that in order to take the next step forward with franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson in 2022, the Baltimore Ravens will have to provide him with more weapons.

That was arguably the case in free agency when the Ravens signed no receivers but moved on from Sammy Watkins and Miles Boykin. It was arguably the case in the draft, where they traded top wide receiver Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals but spent none of their 11 picks on wideouts.

With the draft in the rear-view mirror and Rashod Bateman and Devin Duvernay likely leading the receiver depth chart, the Ravens must realize that it's time to pull the trigger on a deal for disgruntled San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Deebo Samuel.

Bateman could become a star, but the 2021 first-round pick barely hit the 500-yard mark during an injured-riddled rookie campaign. Duvernay is a return specialist who is better suited as a complementary receiving option.

And the only other receivers on the roster are James Proche II (17 catches in two NFL seasons), Tylan Wallace (two catches in 17 games as a rookie in 2021), Binjimen Victor (an undrafted 25-year-old with no NFL work under his belt) and Jaylon Moore (an undrafted 24-year-old with the same resume as Victor).

Sure, the Ravens offense is run-oriented, and the secret sauce lies with Jackson's dual-threat ability and tight end Mark Andrews' dominance as a safety valve. However, that hasn't yielded much in terms of success, and Baltimore ranked below average offensively in terms of yards per play while posting an 8-9 record in 2021. 

When the team dealt Brown to the Arizona Cardinals during the first round of the draft, Ravens fans likely hoped that was a precursor to a bigger move. The Ravens need an upgrade over Brown, not take a step backward. And the only obvious way to accomplish that now is to pay up for Samuel. 

Unfortunately, the Ravens lack immediate draft capital as trade ammunition. Ideally, they would have made a move for Samuel on Thursday or Friday, but that doesn't mean this can't happen. A team in win-now mode with a quarterback who doesn't appear to be antsy about extending his expiring contract has to be willing to sacrifice future draft capital in a situation like this for a player like this.

It's the cool thing to do now anyway, a la the Los Angeles Rams. Primo draft picks are nice, but those are rolls of the dice, and Samuel is a proven commodity.

The 26-year-old Samuel exploded with 1,770 scrimmage yards and 14 total touchdowns in 16 games last season in San Francisco. But he told ESPN's Jeff Darlington last week that he wants to be traded. The 49ers, for their part, understandably appear to be driving a hard bargain for a rising star who remains under contract through 2022, per ESPN's Rich Cimini.

So no, Samuel won't come cheap. He'll likely cost more than $20 million per year beyond trade value. But winning is rarely inexpensive, and it's hard not to drool at the thought of a dynamic weapon like Samuel working with Jackson and Andrews in Baltimore's offense. 

The good news is that much of Baltimore's potential competition in the Samuel sweepstakes has invested premium capital in the receiver position via the draft. The Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots all used second-round picks on wideouts, and the New York Jets selected Ohio State product Garrett Wilson 10th overall. 

Maybe that'll help. Maybe it won't. Regardless, the Ravens have a full complement of picks in the 2023 and 2024 drafts, and they might be able to sweeten the pot with a somewhat expendable veteran like Marcus Peters for a San Francisco team that could use help in the secondary. 

If you expect to be good—and the Ravens should expect that, especially with Samuel on the roster—first-round picks are less valuable anyway. 

It's time for Baltimore to employ that approach and offer Kyle Shanahan and Co. an offer they can't refuse for a player who might force the Niners' hand anyway. 

The 2022 NFL draft has been a wide-receiver party thus far, potentially at the expense of the prospects tasked with throwing to those wideouts. 

For the first time since 1996, only one quarterback—Pittsburgh Steelers first-rounder Kenny Pickett—was selected in the top 70 picks. 

Considering that three of the past four drafts featured four first-round quarterbacks—equal to the number of signal-callers that came off the board in the first three rounds this year—we're looking at one hell of an indictment on this year's quarterback class. 

In the most pass-happy, quarterback-oriented era in NFL history, you've got to be a historically bad class to receive this much neglect in the early rounds. 

And indeed, these guys all have their flaws. 

Pickett, who went 20th to Pittsburgh, has small hands and can be extremely jittery in the pocket. Atlanta Falcons No. 74 selection Desmond Ridder has a slight frame and accuracy concerns. Tennessee Titans No. 86 pick Malik Willis, who many thought could be a top-10 selection, is a project who will need to become far more consistent at the pro level. And Carolina Panthers No. 94 selection Matt Corral lacks the measurables or polish you want to see in a potential starter. 

The only other passer who was frequently in Day 1 or Day 2 conversations leading up to the draft is North Carolina product Sam Howell, who requires development, lacks ideal height and may run into issues with his mechanics. 

I know, I know. Tell us how you really feel, Gagnon. 

But there's more to this. The reality is that in a lot of other years, even this class might have garnered more love on the draft board. In this case, we're looking at a rookie passer class that has been victimized by the aforementioned recent quarterback gorge. 

At least three quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the previous six drafts. Looking more recently, nine signal-callers were selected in the first two rounds of the past two drafts alone. Eight of the first-round QBs coming off their rookie or sophomore season—Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert—clearly possess some or a lot of promise. 

That's a quarter of the league's starting quarterback inventory right there. 

Another factor to consider is that the veteran quarterback carousel has been spinning more violently than ever. The Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all looked like obvious potential early round quarterback selectors at various points this offseason, but Indy brought in Matt Ryan, Denver traded for Russell Wilson, Seattle at least got Drew Lock back for Wilson, Washington acquired Carson Wentz and Tom Brady famously balked on his retirement in Tampa. 

The Colts and Seahawks might have still been in on quarterbacks, but neither of those teams is known for making rash draft decisions. While the Detroit Lions shouldn't give much more leash to Jared Goff, it's easy to see why they might want to focus on other positions with Goff owed more than $30 million in 2022. 

Then there's the fact said carousel hasn't even stopped spinning. If teams entered this event under the impression Baker Mayfield and/or Jimmy Garoppolo could still be had at reasonable rates, why swing the bat on an iffy quarterback prospect even when the draft value might be there? 

The Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers did not help this quarterback class by holding onto Mayfield and Garoppolo, respectively, throughout Thursday and Friday. 

Still, the Jameis Winston-quarterbacked New Orleans Saints haven't bitten at all yet, the Falcons waited until Round 3 with Marcus Mariota in their QB1 slot, and a Panthers team putting most of its eggs in Sam Darnold's basket didn't appear to be in much of a rush to bring in competition before taking Corral late on Day 2. 

Some of those teams may have been thinking about Mayfield or Jimmy G. Some might have also been considering 2023. 

Led by Ohio State's C.J Stroud and Alabama's Bryce Young, next year's quarterback class looks like a lot of fun. The cannon-armed Stroud destroyed the Big Ten as a sophomore in 2022, while the polished Young won the Heisman Trophy in his debut season as a starter in the SEC. 

Beyond those two, there's plenty of other intriguing options. There's the physically awesome DJ Uiagalelei out of Clemson, former popular 2022 No. 1 mock pick in Spencer Rattler from South Carolina, and dual-threat bomber Anthony Richardson out of Florida is worth keeping an eye on, too. And those three are just the short list beyond the two-man top tier.

It's possible that for the first time in world history, NFL teams are exhibiting some patience this week. It helps that a lot of teams aren't set to give up on their current quarterbacks just yet. Additionally, there are still some interesting vets out there, and—maybe most critically—this quarterback class isn't much to get excited about.