Previously mentioned as being uninterested in Baker Mayfield, the Panthers look to be reversing course. Carolina now has the inside track to acquire the disgruntled quarterback from Cleveland, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes.
During his much-discussed podcast appearance this week, Mayfield mentioned the Seahawks as his most likely destination. But the former No. 1 overall pick was unsure, as his offseason has now seen him drift into limbo following the Browns’ Deshaun Watson trade. A Panthers deal would be interesting. Not only has Mayfield been reported to be unenthused about playing with Carolina, Robby Anderson recently tweeted he would not be excited about such a deal. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport also mentioned the Panthers as the most likely Mayfield team (video link).
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Carolina, however, makes sense as a Mayfield suitor. Matt Rhule is on the hot seat, and GM Scott Fitterer said the team will likely have to compromise its board to draft a quarterback at No. 6. Mayfield would give the Panthers an instant starter, one who would likely be an upgrade on every Panthers QB situation since before injuries derailed Cam Newton‘s career. It would also pair Mayfield with Sam Darnold, giving the Panthers an interesting setup featuring the first two QBs drafted in 2018. Like Mayfield, Darnold is tied to a fully guaranteed fifth-year option salary ($18.9MM).
While it would seem Mayfield lacks options at this point, Cabot adds the fifth-year passer has “several” interested teams. The Seahawks would seemingly be in this mix. Others certainly would if the Browns cut him, but they are not expected to do so. A trade is tentatively expected to be completed by the draft. Otherwise, Mayfield’s market could shrink further, with certain teams set to make seminal QB decisions in the first and second rounds.
The Browns hope to resolve their newly awkward QB situation soon, rather than carry Mayfield on their roster deep into the offseason. It seems he will beat Jimmy Garoppolo to the transaction wire. It will be interesting if the Panthers or another team convinces the Browns to take on part of Mayfield’s salary. The Browns doing so would stand to increase the level of trade compensation.
These Mayfield rumblings come after the Panthers completed a busy week of quarterback evaluations. They hosted six QB prospects this week, and buzz around the league is pointing to a Carolina QB choice. It would not be out of the question for Carolina to acquire Mayfield and use its first-round pick on a passer, the likelier scenario would be the team trading for Mayfield and either taking a non-QB in Round 1 or trading the pick. Lacking any picks in Rounds 2 and 3, the Panthers have discussed moving down with a few teams.
Sure, it would be weird to have dueling 2018 draft QBs, but this one is much better. Dealing a non first rounder from 2023 for Mayfield and taking a left tackle at #6 this year is more likely to help them compete this year and save Rhule’s job AND better if they do fire Rhule after this season, rather than saddling a new coach with a second year QB they reached to take this year out of desperation.
Not much of a duel….one is a decent QB when healthy, other is a bust.
That’s why I said one is much better.
Would trading Baker for Ridley make much sense?
Falcons have Mariota as QB but he’s a bum.
Ridley is out for the reason and browns would be getting him for next season on a 1 year deal.
But he wouldn’t cost anything against the cap this year and next season Cooper and Ridley would be a really talented duo.
Love it from both sides
Unless I missed an update, Ridley’s suspension is still indefinite, with the only clarity that it’s at least a full season. He’s not getting traded any time soon, and when he does, they’ll presumably want draft picks or something to help them beyond 2022.
I agree it’s very very unlikely, but on paper Brown can shred Baker and his baggage and pick up Ridley. They don’t even need to pay him until his suspension is over at which point he’s still a really good player.
For the Falcons they can just move off him now and focus on the rebuild.
Why would the Falcons trade him for a middle of the pack QB with one year of control?
Ridley comes with a big IF.
@Oooof- If they even so much as think he can be a franchise QB with Arthur Smith’s tutelage then they should bite. Potential franchise QB or something like a 3rd round pick?
I would take the gamble if I were Atlanta. Ridley will only have one year remaining, gotta get something for him.
Look at the WR market this off-season. If not for the suspension, he’d get at least a second round pick. If someone saw Baker as a likely franchise QB, he’d have been traded already.
Well, an additional thing to consider with Baker is that the Browns have put themselves in a hole compensation wise. No matter how good teams think Baker might be, trading a lot for player that teams know his organization is trying to get rid of is ludicrous. It would be different if teams thought that they’d have to pry Mayfield from the Browns. Right now, they know the Browns need to get something for him. It’s less about Baker’s abilities and more about the Browns’ lack of leverage.
There is also, on Mayfield’s end, the fact that he’s coming off a big injury. Teams would have to consider that he may not recover to form, or at least will be less willing to give up anything without proof that he can play again at his highest level. I think plenty of teams are interested, just not enough so to pay for a guy that his team doesn’t want.
Yep. Confluence of a lot of things there. I still think of the Watson thing had unfolded earlier, Baket might be in Washington.
Not really a big injury. It was his non throwing shoulder. The trouble for teams waiting for Mayfield to be released is you may not get him then. The Jets and others wanted Amari Cooper and thought he’d be released but the Browns didn’t want to take the risk and traded for him. They restructured his deal to lower the cap and now he looks like a steal compared with the market for WR’s now
Does Ridley even play next year? The dude walked away with problems and now will miss next year too. The Browns have plenty of cap room this year
If Ridley could play and Mariota wasn’t already signed, that wouldn’t be bad. Arthur Smith earned his job by running an effective run first system in Tennessee, and Mayfield is at his best when play action works and he doesn’t have to progress through too many reads in the pocket.
Atlanta is far from ready to do that now, without a set running game and an unsteady offensive line, but that is the system that Smith wants to run. Mariota is probably better suited for RPOs, but Mayfield offers more as a passer. With Mariota already signed, however, I find it doubtful that Atlanta would give up assets for Mayfield. Ridley’s situation seems to preclude him from trade conversations right now. But I don’t think Mayfield and Smith are a bad pairing philosophically.
If Ridley weren’t suspended, he’d have much more trade value right now than Baker.
That wasn’t in response to me, was it? I wasn’t trying to argue that, apologies if it came off that way.
If? He’s not available.
I wouldn’t trade much for Ridley. He’s out at least a full season plus still has crippling unresolved mental/emotional issues. There’s no guarantee he’ll ever even play again. Any trade would have to be contingent on a heavy psych evaluation.. Just too many red flags with that guy.
Robby Anderson sure has a high opinion of himself.
I knew that when he chose that hairstyle. I didn’t understand his high opinion of himself then, still don’t now.
Don’t worry Baker, Panthers fans don’t want you either
Yea they’d rather lose with Darnold and waste another year of CMC. Baker might not be enough to help but all Panthers fans should be begging for an upgrade at QB and well Baker is the best QB left available.
Agreed except for the ‘best QB left available’. If Jimmy G is available, he’s the best one left.
I think Jimmy and Baker are similar but I’ll take the younger guy with more upside. If Baker plays well whoever trades for him gets first shot at extending him and boom franchise QB for a decade. It’s definitely a bigger risk that Jimmy but at this point Jimmy is what he is, a healthy fired up Baker could be something.
Baker is more talented than Jimmy G, thrower of ducks. People forget how good Mayfield was when he was healthy.
I freely admit that I’ve seen a lot of Mayfield and not a lot of Jimmy G… but I honestly don’t get a lot of the appeal for Garoppolo. He’s extremely ordinary to me.
I disagree. There is only one year left on Darnolds deal. It’s not like the Panthers extended his contract and this team isn’t going to be in playoff contention with or without Mayfield. Why replace one bum with another?
If the Panthers wanted to build for the future thanthey would wait for next year’s QB class or trade for Jimmy G…. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold aren’t the answers but why give up draft picks for someone who isn’t the future?
Who wants Mayfield? Lol
A team that has Sam Darnold as its no. 1
At least a few teams want Mayfield, and it’s foolish to think otherwise. The problems are that no one wants him at his current 18 million contract, and the Browns have no trade leverage so teams are waiting the Browns out. If Mayfield was a free agent he’d likely have multiple suitors.
I’m still intrigued if Kevin Colbert could
Convince Andrew berry to trade baker in the division. He would be good that system and with Tomlin
I would really be in favor of the Steelers somehow figuring out a way to land Baker, but not if it costs them more than a mid-round pick… which is moot, because I don’t see any way in the world Berry would be convinced to trade Mayfield within the division. Can you imagine the possible embarrassment of running Mayfield out of town, then having him beat you twice in one season? I’m not saying it would happen, but it could under that scenario.
Just make sure that Robby Anderson is part of the package going to Cleveland — addition by subtraction for the Panthers
Why don’t the Eagles jump in??
They already have two QBs?
Please baby Jesus don’t let Baker come to Seattle. We don’t want him to play for us or move into the stadium.
As a resident of Seattle, I’ve heard different from quite a few Seahawks fans.
Any Seahawks fan who thinks that the team would be better off with Drew Lock than Baker Mayfield needs more help than modern medicine can provide.
Did I say we would be better off. No I did not. This should be a throw away season. Stock draft picks for next year and build with rookies from this year and next.
No need to give a pick away and take on salary for a one year deal. Only way I would kind of like it if we have a 4th or 5th and they ate half his salary. I think Loch will do a better job getting us a better pick.
Seattle needs to trade down this year unless a guy like Hutchinson drops for some reason. They should trade for a first next year meaning drop down and do what needs to be done to do it. They will have 3-1sr they can trade them to get the QB they want. No reason to bring Mayfield in for that.
What difference does it make.? We still have to watch those idoit commercials with Baker Mayfield
You seriously think that Progressive is going to keep airing commercials showing him living in Progressive Field after he no longer plays there? After all of the bad blood between Baker and the Browns front office? Thankfully I would suspect those commercials are getting flushed down the metaphorical toilet into oblivion.
Baker lives in the baseball stadium?
Less Baker, more of the guy who helps people who become their parents.
Win/Win
I liked those “becoming your parents” ads, but the latest ones seem to show that they’ve run their course.
Rhule is a dead man walking regardless of what happens with Mayfield. The Cam Newton fiasco demonstrated his influence with the front office/owner.
My feelings about Mayfield are rather ambivalent but I hope he gets to see the Browns crash and burn.
Why do you hate Joe Bitonio so much?
No problem with Joe but the Browns organization and fans are just no class bums. They refused to show Art Modell any respect when he died. Even the Raider fans (who generally get painted as the leagues bad boys) had the decency to honor Al Davis when he died…and he had relocated his team too.
Every Browns fan disrespected Modell? Hardly. Modell lied and took the Browns away and fans have to mourn his death? Sounds like you’re acting like the fans you’re accusing.
Is Joe Bitonio related to the Browns guard, Joel Bitonio?
Is this you Siri? With spellchecker.