Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Trade talks between the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns for Baker Mayfield are heating up.
With minicamps commencing for the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday, trade talks are amping up between both parties when it comes to former Browns starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported on Tuesday morning that “trade talks between the teams continue surrounding (quarterback) Baker Mayfield.” The big remaining issue in finalizing a deal is how much of Mayfield’s fifth-year option salary for 2022 the Panthers willing to pay.
Jones would add that “there’s urgency on Carolina’s side to execute the deal soon so Mayfield can get some time in minicamp with the Panthers.” Carolina has long been in the mix for Mayfield, as his market diminished greatly after the Indianapolis Colts traded for former Atlanta Falcons franchise cornerstone Matt Ryan several weeks ago.
Keep in mind that Carolina used a mid-round pick on former Ole Miss starter Matt Corral in the 2022 NFL Draft and still are paying Mayfield’s fellow 2018 draft classmate Sam Darnold as well.
Carolina Panthers feeling pressure to trade for Baker Mayfield this summer
Had the bridge between Mayfield and the Browns not been burnt to a crisp this offseason because of the inherently reckless Deshaun Watson trade, he would be the Cleveland starter in a contract year. Mayfield did lead the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since he was in grade school, guiding them to their first playoff victory during his lifetime only a season ago. So much has changed since then…
With Cleveland not really being an option for Mayfield, Carolina has been one of the more likely landing spots for him, no matter how poorly run the franchise is under new owner David Tepper. The noted venture capitalist has seen the Panthers win precisely five games per season in the first two years of the Matt Rhule reign. Tepper already fired Charlotte FC’s coach Miguel Angel Ramirez during the team’s inaugural season.
Mayfield is better than Darnold and would be the best quarterback on the Panthers’ active roster. Because Rhule has to win to keep his job, he should be all about this. However, this would only feel like a stop-gap maneuver for the Panthers to trade for Mayfield. He will get another opportunity to compete for a starting job once the next wave of free agency gets here. Carolina will Carolina…
The Panthers may been feeling the “urgency”, but this team is not going to be the least bit good.