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The Baker Mayfield saga has come to an end with the Cleveland Browns trading the quarterback to the Carolina Panthers. Mayfield’s relationship with the franchise became untenable following the arrival of Deshaun Watson.
The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd discussed the situation in Cleveland at length in a recent article. He thinks that Baker Mayfield is mostly to blame for causing a rift in the dressing room, leading to his own exit from the franchise.
He asserts that Mayfield's play was not of a high enough standard to warrant a new contract and that his mistakes led them to pursue Watson. Lloyd is of the opinion that the way he handled himself led the Brows to view him as "childish and immature."
Lloyd also focused on the quarterback’s relationship with coach Kevin Stefanski. He thinks that they lost trust in each other, which resulted in poor performances and a tense environment. Whether this is accurate is a separate matter.
The Browns elected to trade Baker Mayfield without waiting to hear the outcome of the NFL's investigation into Deshaun Watson's legal situation. That they prefer to move forward with Jacoby Brissett and Joshua Dobbs over Mayfield says it all. Not only did they end up trading him, but they did so for relatively nothing, getting only a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft in return.
Have the Browns set Baker Mayfield up to fail with the Carolina Panthers?
Baker Mayfield has the fresh start he wanted with the Panthers. But is it the fresh start he needed? The Browns are very much in a win-now position, with a highly talented roster boasting some of the NFL's top players in many positions.
That he was so desperate to leave Cleveland is understandable, but potentially hot-headed. The consequences of anger are so often much greater than the cause.
He first task in Charlotte is to unseat last season's quarterback Sam Darnold. This he is widely expected to achieve. Darnold had a torrid season statistically in 2021, throwing only nine touchdowns against 13 interceptions before he was injured, earning a 4-7 record.
The Carolina offense boasts Christian McCaffrey, who is incredible when healthy. The issue is that McCaffrey has only started 10 games over the last two seasons. When fit, the Panthers are a tremendously dangerous side, but without him they falter.
They have D.J. Moore as their vaunted primary wide receiver, but beyond that there are question marks. Not least of which hangs over receiver Robby Anderson. Anderson reacted to a trade rumor involving his new quarterback earlier in the offseason with a resounding "noooooo." Whether this will cause any friction is unclear.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is under pressure to succeed in 2022 and many believe that Carolina is possibly the worst place a quarterback could land at present. Whether this was Cleveland's motive behind the trade is a secret unlikely to be revealed.
Cleveland's trip to Charlotte to face the Panthers and Baker Mayfield in the opening week of the season is now a highly anticipated clash. It will be fascinating to see them in action in September.
