The Hollywood Brown trade during the first round of the NFL Draft raised antennae for a couple of reasons.

First, people around the NFL were surprised the Cardinals made the move — acquiring Marquise Brown and a third-round pick (No. 100) for the 23rd selection.

“Baltimore won that one by a lot,” one team executive said.

Another source, whose team plays the Cardinals in 2022, added, “Bad trade for them. Good trade for us.”

To balance it out a bit, one coach noted the wide receiver “will be better in Arizona” as a result of the pass-heavy Cardinals offense. Quarterback Kyler Murray has 11,480 passing yards since 2019, compared with 8,766 for Lamar Jackson.

However, the Cardinals will now be compelled to extend Brown’s contract at a time when the receivers market is booming and favoring the players’ side in terms of leverage. After all, they didn’t give up a first-round pick — or moved back from the first round to the third round if you’d prefer to look at it that way — for a two-year rental, including the fifth-year option for 2023.

Tyreek Hill (four-year, $120 million extension), Davante Adams (five years, $140 million) and A.J. Brown (four-year, $100 million extension) recently signed massive deals, though the backloaded money inflated the sticker prices. Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf will likely eventually get similar pacts to strengthen the position’s market value.

That means Marquise Brown is in line to be paid like one of the best receivers in the NFL. He just had the best season of his career with 91 catches and 1,008 yards but ranked 14th and 26th in those categories.

It’s a projection, and it’s possible the Cardinals made the right one. Brown, who turns 25 next month, is on an upward trajectory and should have a greater statistical output in Arizona, particularly once DeAndre Hopkins returns to monopolize the defense’s attention.

Brown will have the leverage, though. And don’t forget, Murray is also putting pressure on the Cardinals to get a deal done, and the franchise quarterback certainly has his leverage. This is an incredibly important time for the Cardinals’ front office.

The second reason for the telescopic antennae has to do with Jackson, who knew Brown wanted to be traded and had to know his friend was on the move when he expressed his apparent displeasure with the transaction on social media.

The dynamic between Jackson and the Ravens has already drawn plenty of attention. Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has expressed his desire to reach a long-term, market-value extension with Jackson but noted this offseason that Jackson hasn’t been ready to hammer out the negotiations.

The situation has some wondering whether the Ravens and Jackson are heading toward the franchise-tag route in 2023 and beyond. From a cash-flow perspective, that route would favor the Ravens with projected tag hits of roughly $31 million in 2023 and $38 million in 2024. A third tag, worth possibly $55 million in 2025, might even be less than Jackson’s market value if he continues to play well.

Does Jackson really want to go year to year? Or is the 25-year-old banking on good health to increase his contractual value a year from now?

Executives around the league are certainly monitoring the situation from afar, wondering of course whether Jackson would ever become available if these nontraditional negotiations go sideways. There’s no hint of that happening now, but superstar movement around the league in recent years has curbed the surprise element with these storylines.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield is still on the Browns, and it’s been obvious for a while that it’s because of the money.

The Panthers and Seahawks have shown interest in acquiring Mayfield, but the Browns haven’t been willing to absorb enough of his fully guaranteed $18.858 million salary. There had indeed been some progress in the negotiations between the Browns and Panthers before Carolina traded up for quarterback Matt Corral — a move the Panthers felt compelled to make with a QB prospect they liked still dangling out there.

The Panthers and Seahawks still haven’t ruled out acquiring Mayfield, but they’ll need the Browns to take on a much greater portion of his contract than they’ve offered so far. It’s unclear how far apart the sides have been, but the Browns want their contractual intake to be commensurate with the asset they receive in return.

The Browns don’t have much, if any, negotiating leverage, and the Panthers and Seahawks are using that to their advantage. As a fifth-year player, Mayfield’s minimum base salary would be $1.035 million, which means the Browns could eat as much as $17.823 million in a trade. The Panthers and Seahawks are obviously pushing for something closer to that number.

The Browns, meanwhile, could theoretically keep Mayfield through 2022 if a trade doesn’t materialize. If they do release him — absorbing the full $18.858 million and really only netting a roster spot — they’ve got to believe the Panthers or Seahawks would have to pay him more than $1.035 million, which is part of their leverage play.

The Browns are also daring the Seahawks (Drew Lock and Geno Smith) and Panthers (Sam Darnold and Corral) to roll with their current QBs. With Mayfield still rehabbing his surgically repaired left shoulder, his inability to currently practice has probably tempered the urgency to acquire him to foster a quarterback competition.

Therefore, everyone remains stuck in a holding pattern.

Three quick notes out of New England …

• This shouldn’t be very surprising, but the Patriots sound ecstatic with quarterback Mac Jones’ offseason dedication. Jones has spent long hours at Gillette Stadium, often beating the coaching staff into the building to get a jump-start on film study for the day. He is also taking ownership of the offense, willing to vouch for plays and concepts that he likes and pump the brakes on the stuff that hasn’t worked.

• Wide receiver N’Keal Harry didn’t do himself any favors by skipping the beginning of the voluntary offseason workout program. The 2019 first-round pick has 57 career catches for 598 yards and four touchdowns, and the clock appears to be ticking on his time in New England. The feeling in Foxboro is it’s going to be difficult for him to improve upon those numbers by avoiding these team-building workouts.

The other issue is Harry has no apparent trade value, barring a player-for-player swap with someone on an expiring contract who also needs a change of scenery. The Patriots already have Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Tyquan Thornton on the roster and tend to carry five receivers into Week 1. To make the team, Harry would likely need the best camp of his career and an injury ahead of him on the depth chart.

• New England veterans have been extremely encouraged with the team chemistry this offseason. The free-agent additions have meshed well in the locker room, and there’s been a different vibe over the past month.

(Top photo of Hollywood Brown: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)