Baker Mayfield is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma, where he won several awards, including the Heisman Trophy. Mayfield was drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Who Will Sign Baker Mayfield
The Carolina Panthers are expected to sign Baker Mayfield to a one-year contract. Mayfield, who was released by the Cleveland Browns last week, will serve as the backup to Teddy Bridgewater. The Panthers are looking to add a veteran quarterback to their roster after trading away Cam Newton this offseason.
Baker Mayfield was traded by the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional 2024 NFL Draft selection.
Baker Mayfield, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, was traded to the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a conditional 2024 draught selection.
According to a source who spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers will cover $4.85 million of Baker Mayfield’s contract while the Browns will cover $10.5 million. In order to make the agreement, which is subject to a physical, Mayfield agreed to convert the remaining $18.8 million of his salary into incentives. According to a source, Mayfield may recoup that cash depending on how well the team performs.
Depending on how much Mayfield plays for Carolina, the Browns will either earn a fourth- or fifth-round selection in 2024, a source told ESPN. According to a league source who spoke to ESPN’s David Newton, Mayfield would need to play seventy per cent of the plays for the selection to go to a fourth-round choice.
Sam Darnold, the third overall choice in the 2018 draught, was already on the Panthers team’s depth chart for quarterbacks when Mayfield, the first overall pick, was selected. In the third round of this year’s draught, the Panthers also chose Matt Corral.
Realted Odell Beckham Jr. has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Rams.
After acquiring Mayfield, the Panthers have no plans to trade Darnold, according to a league source, Newton.
Now, Mayfield and Darnold, who fought it out to be the top choice in 2018, will face off once again in training camp for the opportunity to start for the Panthers this year, a league source told Schefter.
The Browns, who will be visiting Carolina in Week 1, will be Mayfield’s first opponent if he gets the job. Caesars Sportsbook presently has the Browns as 1-point favourites.
According to ESPN Stats & Information analysis, Panthers quarterbacks had a 30.3 QBR last season, which was good for 30th place in the NFL. Darnold was the only non-rookie quarterback with a worse QBR than Mayfield, who had a 35.1 QBR last season and finished 27th out of the 31 qualifying quarterbacks.
Carolina’s Super Bowl chances decreased with the deal from 125 to 100 at Caesars Sportsbook, but its odds to win the NFC increased from 60 to 50 and its odds to win the NFC South decreased from 12 to 11-1.
Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam issued a statement saying, “We want to thank Baker for all his efforts to the Cleveland Browns. “He sacrificed all for this team and this city from the minute he was selected. He inspired the fan support and did things that no player in his position had done in Cleveland for a very long time because of his tremendous competitive spirit. In addition, he had a positive impact on the community by organising activities at the Boys and Girls Club, showing support for the Special Olympics, and a number of other philanthropic causes. We are appreciative of all he achieved for our company and hope the future is bright for him and Emily.”
Mayfield was acquired in the blockbuster trade that Cleveland made with the Houston Texans to get quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Browns extended Watson a five-year contract for $230 million with a full guarantee, making it by $80 million the most lucrative guaranteed contract in NFL history. In addition, Cleveland gave up three first-round selections, the first Club to do so since the Minnesota Vikings gave up three first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 to get running back Herschel Walker.
With Mayfield gone, Josh Dobbs, Jacoby Brissett, and starter Watson are the quarterback options for the Browns. However, it’s possible that Watson won’t be available to the Browns at all this year. Twenty-five women have filed civil complaints against him, alleging anything from sexual assault to improper conduct while getting massages. His three-day hearing before Sue L. Robinson, who was jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, came to an end on Thursday.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano said that the NFL has been pressing for a ban for at least a year and that repeated efforts to reach an agreement during the hearing have been made but have been unsuccessful. Robinson has not set a deadline for making a decision.
Realted The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns 15-10 in a rematch on Sunday.
The Browns are anticipated to start Brissett as a quarterback if Watson is sidelined.
The Mayfield era in Cleveland was virtually over with the Watson deal. The former Heisman Trophy winner was chosen by the Browns as the No. 1 overall pick in 2018. He made his season debut in Week 3 of that year off the bench and inspired the Browns to their first victory in 635 days. He went on to shatter the NFL rookie record with 27 touchdowns and finish second in the vote for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Later, in 2020, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, who ended with 31 touchdown passes, shattered that mark.
However, Mayfield’s overall career was hampered by turmoil, inconsistency, and a left shoulder injury that kept him out for the whole 2021 season.
According to several reports, Mayfield had become more unhappy with Cleveland over the course of his four years there, where the team had made him the fourth quarterback in NFL history to play for four different head coaches in his first three seasons. Even after Mayfield helped the Browns win their first playoff game in 26 years during the 2020 campaign, the team chose not to speak with Mayfield’s representatives about a potential contract extension once he became eligible for one, sending a message to Mayfield that he might not be in the team’s long-term plans.
In Week 2 of the 2021 campaign, Mayfield then sustained a torn labrum in his non-throwing left shoulder. Mayfield chose to play through the injury rather than missing time or having season-ending surgery. As a result, he struggled for most of the season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he saw the most QBR dropoff of any quarterback in the league, dropping from the top 10 in QBR in 2020 to 27th in 2021.
However, Mayfield’s status as the Browns’ starting quarterback has been frequently confirmed in public over the previous two months by head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry.
According to a person with knowledge of the exchange, Berry informed Mayfield’s agent at the NFL combine in February that the Browns may be interested in an elite quarterback like Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. Despite the fact that there were 22 civil lawsuits ongoing at the time claiming improper conduct and sexual assault during massage sessions, Mayfield’s team was also aware that Watson would ultimately make the shortlist.
Cleveland Browns Week 1 Reactions: No need to panic despite loss to Chiefs
The Browns moved on March 12 and set up a meeting with Watson in Houston after a Texas grand jury decided against pressing charges against Watson.
Mayfield was upset that the Browns didn’t tell him directly that they would be meeting with Watson; instead, he learned about it via social media, according to several sources who spoke to ESPN. While Browns executives were travelling home from Houston, Mayfield reacted with a message that evening, praising the city of Cleveland and its supporters “who genuinely accepted who I am.”
But during that week, Mayfield reached his breaking point with the Browns.
A Browns insider reportedly informed ESPN‘s Chris Mortensen on March 16 that the franchise intended to replace Mayfield with “an adult at that position.”
The next day, Mayfield made a trade request. At first, the Browns informed him that they “were not granting his request.” However, once Cleveland signed Watson, Mayfield lost his value.
As a consequence, Mayfield joins JaMarcus Russell (Raiders) and Jeff George as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to be selected first overall and play for their Club for four or fewer seasons. This is according to ESPN Stats & Information (Colts).
