Baker Mayfield Traded to the Panthers – Assessing the Fallout

The Baker Mayfield saga in Cleveland is over after the Browns traded their starting quarterback from the past four seasons to the Carolina Panthers earlier this week. The trade – which sent a conditional 5^th-round draft pick in 2024 to the Browns – is one that had been in the works ever since Cleveland added DeShaun Watson earlier this offseason.

Mayfield had requested a trade, uncertain as to where the addition of Watson left him in Cleveland. The Panthers and Seattle Seahawks quickly became the two obvious destinations (as quarterback-light teams) and in the end, Mayfield has headed to the NFC South as opposed to the NFC West. Baker could be an upgrade for the Panthers, but it hasn’t done anything with NFL betting sites when it comes to their Super Bowl odds at this stage.

Here is a look at what it means to some of the parties involved:

Baker Mayfield

Mayfield needed a new challenge as much as any player in the league. His sophomore season was a disaster – you can chalk some of that up to miserable coaching – while last season the former Heisman winner was an injured shell of the player he could be.

One issue with Mayfield continues to be questions regarding attitude and work ethic Without being inside the dressing room it is hard to tell how accurate those reports are, but in this social media world, it is easy to be cast as the fall guy in a hurry. This is the trade he needed and now it is time for Mayfield to step up.

Sam Darnold

In a turn of events that is quite unbelievable, the Panthers now have two of the top three picks from the 2018 NFL Draft on their books. They also have the two highest drafted QBs in that draft as Mayfield went No. 1 to the Browns and Sam Darnold at No. 3 to the Jets. Expect a trade for No. 2 pick Saquon Barkley to be incoming soon…

As for Darnold in Carolina, I wouldn’t count him out just yet. Mayfield is the better player, but Darnold was doing just fine in 2021 until all-everything running back Christian McCaffrey went down injured. Carolina’s offense was built around C-Mac and they didn’t know what to do when he went down. Could Darnold keep the gig with McCaffrey back?

Jimmy Garoppolo

The other quarterback that had some stake in this trade is Garoppolo. Trey Lance has moved above Jimmy G on the San Francisco 49ers depth chart and the youngster is the future (and now current) face of the franchise. This leaves Garoppolo as the biggest quarterback name out there still seeking a trade to land a starting gig in 2022.

The Browns

The Browns better hope that Watson isn’t suspended by the NFL for all the sexual misconduct allegations that saw his tenure in Houston ended. There is no doubt that he is an upgrade as a player over Mayfield and that he can take Cleveland to another level. He will only be able to do that, however, if he is on the field. A lot of eggs went into one very unsteady basket here.

The Panthers

Mayfield is certainly an upgrade over Darnold. The level of upgrade, however, is debatable. Mayfield had weapons (eventually) in Cleveland, but could never maintain the flashes of a top-10 quarterback that he showed. If he can get back to that level, then this is a steal of a trade.