The Carolina Panthers agreed in July to offer the conditional 2024 draft choice for the Cleveland Browns for quarterback Baker Mayfield who was the no. one overall selection for the 2018 NFL draft they hoped to bring back his career.
The Renaissance was not a reality in the first place, and it was not even close.
Mayfield was a 0-5 starting quarterback, and was on the lookout at career highs on each important statistic and even his 16.8 Total QBR that ranked last in the league. This led to his demotion on Monday and the Panthers (4-8) expected to replace him with Sam Darnold and PJ Walker as their quarterbacks of choice for the remainder of the season.
Mayfield was asked to be let go and was not granted the request, but he could have been released sooner or later. It could be a good time to release him due to that the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens might be looking to find a good veteran quarterback following Sunday’s game. The 49ers were able to replace Jimmy Garoppolo (broken left foot) for the remainder of the season. Meanwhile, the Ravens may not have Lamar Jackson (left knee) for a time.
Regarding the Panthers the only thing the release said was that the conditional selection from Cleveland is a 5th-rounder, not being a fourth-rounder since Mayfield did not play 70 percent of the snaps during the season.
It is also a guarantee that they are still in search of the franchise’s quarterback.
What’s the reason it didn’t work in the case of Mayfield when he was in Carolina?
He didn’t win. It’s as simple as that.
You could argue that the Panthers weren’t playing to the strengths of Mayfield like Mayfield’s strengths as the Browns had in their 2020 season, when they made a commitment to the running game to relieve the pressure off of quarterbacks. The kind of commitment wasn’t made until the interim director Steve Wilks replaced head coach Matt Rhule, who was fired following a 4-1 start with Mayfield.
Even with a pledge to the running in Mayfield’s one and only game under Wilks the quarterback failed to take the initiative. He went 21-of-33 for 196 yards, and had 2 interceptions during a 13-3 loss to Baltimore. This sealed his fate even if it wasn’t already sealed it was. Management was likely aware at the time that Mayfield was not going to be element of the team’s long-term plan. Darnold is still a possibility to become a player, therefore they decided to cut bait and went on to Mayfield. — David Newton
What is the reason why the Panthers let him go right now?
The timing was planned from the beginning, once it became obvious that Walker (ankle) would be well enough to recover from an ankle sprain and return to Darnold. That would have put Mayfield inactive for the remainder of the season and didn’t help either player to let that take place. The fact that Mayfield demanded his release did not change things however it did allow him to be available should there is a chance that the 49ers, Ravens or another team that needs quarterback support would like to put their money on him later on.
The Panthers were willing to provide $4.858 percent from Mayfield’s $18.8 2022 salary when they traded Mayfield. Mayfield was willing to take the $3.5 million cut off the rest of his salary along with incentives included in his contract that would allow him to earn that back. The team never got near achieving them but he’ll become an open-ended player during the offseason. — David Newton
Could the injured San Francisco 49ers consider signing Mayfield?
Since the Niners are losing their No. 3 quarterback — seventh round selection Brock Purdy — after season-ending injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo They must consider every option available. This includes Mayfield. Purdy is expected to become the primary starter going forward, no matter what, but the Niners will need to decide whether Mayfield is a good fit as an alternative.
San Francisco already added Josh Johnson and Josh Johnson, at least partly due to his experience with the offense since his stint with the team in 2020. Mayfield played in a variation of Kyle Shanahan’s offense as part of the Cleveland Browns, but could get his head around the language enough to become a better player than Johnson in the not too distant future?
There’s also the an appropriate locker room. Mayfield hasn’t always been popular to some of the most important Niners players, like defensive tackle Nick Bosa, who has some ill-will with Mayfield that goes all the way back to the time of college. This is also not completely in the Niners’ hands since they’re ranked at no. 24 in the waiver ranking and other teams that require quarterbacks are ahead of them. It’s possible that one of these teams might consider the possibility of claiming Mayfield that could trigger a chain reaction that could make another quarterback available, one that the Niners may want. — Nick Wagoner
There is a market to Mayfield outside of the 49ers right now, or even during the offseason?
Mayfield’s market isn’t exactly magma hot. His time with Carolina was supposed restart his career and serve as an opportunity to get to free agency this offseason, but it may affected his chances due to issues with accuracy (career-low 57.8 percent completion rate for 2022).
People I’ve spoken with say that his time as an NFL starting quarterback may be over. However, several teams may start fresh at quarterback, such as those of the New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets and New York Giants. There are likely to be openings. However, he’s not at the top of the pecking order of free agents.
Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Garoppolo, Geno Smith and Daniel Jones are atop the new class of free agents with strong backups like Teddy Bridgewater and Jacoby Brissett. Supply and demand could hurt his chances. — Jeremy Fowler
What do you think are your thoughts on the Panthers’ choices for their quarterback going into 2023?
The draft.
It’s likely that they’ll be contemplating a top-10 pick and maybe even a top-five pick This is a solid quarterback class.
Director of operations Scott Fitterer says the best method to ensure stability over time in the position of quarterback, especially on the financial aspect that is to go through the draft. The team still has the 2013 third-round draft pick, Matt Corral, who has spent the first half of his rookie season in IR because of an Lisfranc injury to the left side of his foot.
However the Panthers may return Darnold as an interim quarterback while they work on a draft pick or Corral in the event that he agrees to provide backup funds. They may also include Walker in their plans too.
However, it’s obvious that neither of them can be a long-term solution to the issue that has affected this squad for a while Cam Newton began having injury problems midway through the season of 2018.
