Why Did Baker Mayfield Leave Cleveland?

Baker Mayfield entered the NFL as one of the most promising quarterbacks. The Cleveland Browns drafted him as the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. He had an outstanding first three seasons with the team, and it seemed he would remain in Cleveland for a longer time.

He won six games each in his first two years, but ended up with two consecutive losing seasons. In 2020, things changed for Mayfield, when he started in all 16 games and ended the season with a 11-5 record. That year, he threw for 3,563 yards with 26 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a pass completion percentage of 62.8.

He helped the Browns reach the divisional round by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Browns suffered a 17-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, but overall the team gained respect for their outstanding performance that season.

During the 2021 offseason, everyone was expecting a contract extension for Baker Mayfield. But after a terrible 2021 season, he ended up being traded to the Carolina Panthers.

Why did the Cleveland Browns trade Baker Mayfield to the Panthers?

In 2021, the Browns entered the league as one of the top contenders in the NFL, with Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback. They wanted to capture the top position in the AFC North, but ended up being third in their division.

The team started the season with a 29-33 loss to the Chiefs. It was a close game, and the expectations followed the Browns into their week 2 game.

In Week 2, Mayfield sustained a torn labrum in his left shoulder while attempting a tackle on an interception. He kept playing with an injured shoulder until it worsened during the Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals and missed the next game against the Broncos, returning to the field in week 8.

In Week 10, he had a knee injury, but that did not keep him away from playing in the next game against the Lions. He missed only two more games, one in week 15 because of the Covid-19 protocol and in the final game of the season against the Bengals as he underwent shoulder surgery.

Baker Mayfield was held responsible for Odell Beckham's Jr.'s poor performance in the 2021 season

November 2 was the trade deadline for the 2021 season, and on the same day Beckham's father posted a video on Instagram showing the QB missing his son on passes and blaming Mayfield for the OBJ's down year. Tensions grew in the locker room and three days later, Beckham was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

Beckham's performance in the second half of the season was outstanding as he helped the Rams lift the Lombardi trophy. This raised some questions about Mayfield's ability as a good quarterback.

As the season was about to end, there were reports of tensions between Brown's head coach Kevin Stefanski and Baker Mayfield, who was also frustrated over the lack of extension talks from the team despite the team picking up his fifth-year option for the 2022 season.

The Browns traded star QB Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans after a grand jury cleared him of his acquisitions. They made it clear that Watson will be their new starting quarterback. Finally, before practice camp started, Baker Mayfield was traded to the Carolina Panthers.

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Is Baker Mayfield playing for Carolina Panthers in 2022?

Baker Mayfield started the season with the Carolina Panthers, but less than six months after acquiring him in a trade, the franchise released him. The decision came after the Panthers' poor performance in the league. The Panthers also fired their head coach, Matt Rhule, for the same reason.

The Los Angeles Rams claimed Mayfield after his release from the Panthers. He played for them this week and led them to a comeback win against the Las Vegas Raiders.