Baker Mayfield finds a new home in Carolina
As the NFL season draws closer, Carolina Panthers fans will have cause for excitement. On Wednesday, the Panthers finalized a trade with the Cleveland Browns bringing in the disgruntled, former 1st overall pick Baker Mayfield for a conditional 5th round draft pick.
Though Baker may not be an all-powerful being, this trade draws one comparison to Thanos from Avengers: Endgame, “I am… inevitable”. The Mayfield trade seemed a certainty this offseason, but with the official announcement, it finally came to fruition for the Panther’s frustrated fanbase.
The Deal
The trade will see Baker Mayfield head to Carolina for a conditional 5th-round draft pick, which will turn into a 4th-round pick if he meets the agreed-upon playing time (roughly 70% of snaps). Though the deal seemed to have been secured months before the announcement, it was the salary retention that needed to be agreed upon before making it official.
The Browns will retain $10.5 million of Mayfield’s fully guaranteed $18.85 million for the upcoming season. Carolina will only have to pay him around $5 million for the 2022 season, with Mayfield reportedly taking a $3.5 million pay cut.
With Baker now finding himself in Charlotte, both teams will be relieved to have agreed mere weeks before training camp. No matter who you make think the winner of the deal is, it is undoubtedly a win-win situation for both teams.
Did the Panthers get their new starter?
Last season, the Carolina Panthers bolstered their offense, while adding to their young defense by drafting Jaycee Horn. The team looked to be coming together, but the quarterback position was still the glaring question mark; enter Sam Darnold.
Darnold, who was drafted 3rd overall in 2018, had had a rough beginning to his NFL career, struggling to do much with the New York Jets.
The Panthers would bring him in via trade. And the hype that followed the “fresh start narrative” quickly faded as Darnold struggled to do much of anything for Carolina. The playoff-hopeful Panthers would end the season with a 5-12 record, leading many to believe that Darnold is not their quarterback of the future.
This brings us to Baker Mayfield (who was drafted 1st overall in the 2018 draft, only 2 spots ahead of Darnold). Mayfield presents the Panthers with a low-risk, high-reward opportunity to find their quarterback of the future.
Carolina will get to spend the season deciding whether Baker Mayfield is worthy of an extension. Or, they will be able to walk away from the QB after one season. At roughly $5 million in owed salary, Mayfield will cost the Panthers less money than some backup quarterbacks in the league.
Cleveland Ends the Mayfield Drama
The Mayfield hype train was rolling in Cleveland after being selected first overall. But after four seasons, that train derailed spectacularly.
His tumultuous tenure in Cleveland started as well as any rookie quarterback could have dreamed, as he would surpass Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson for most touchdowns thrown in a rookie season with 27.
In 2020, he would lead the Browns to their first playoff victory since 1994, defeating division rival Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37, before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs. This excitement and success would be short-lived however as the relationship between Baker and management would continue to wane.
A toxic combination of inconsistent play, mounting injuries, and Baker’s attitude on and off the field would lead to his eventual departure from Cleveland. His fate was all but sealed when the team announced the acquisition of Deshaun Watson from the Texans. This would lead to a trade request from Mayfield’s camp, which was finally resolved in the Panthers deal.
For Cleveland, the trade finally draws an end to the Baker Mayfield drama. “Mayfield was widely viewed as childish and immature,” Jason Lloyd of the Athletic wrote. “His behavior annoyed teammates and divided the locker room. He was often difficult to coach.”
With the Deshaun Watson situation, Cleveland will be relieved to remove at least some of their quarterback problems for the moment.
In the End
This is one of the NFL trades where it is not a needle mover for either team, but it is exactly what both franchises needed. This also works perfectly for Mayfield, as he will get an opportunity to prove himself as a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL on a team with strong offensive weapons and minimal expectations.
This could either be the beginning of the Baker era in Carolina. Or a nothing deal that will be forgotten by the end of the year.
