The saga is over. Baker Mayfield has finally been dealt by the Cleveland Browns, ending the summer-long “will he stay-won’t he stay” narrative that has gripped the Browns up to now. Unfortunately for Baker, his desired separation from Cleveland has resulted in him being shipped off to the Carolina Panthers.
I’ve got to be honest, I’m a little surprised the Browns have traded Baker Mayfield now, rather than in March. Trading Mayfield in March would have made so much more sense as that was when they acquired Deshaun Watson and signed him to a 5-year, $230M fully guaranteed contract.
Baker’s trade value would have been at an all-time high at that point as the offseason had only just begun. The Browns could have gotten a 2nd-rounder or a 3-rounder from Pittsburgh or Seattle or Atlanta.
But Cleveland was stubborn and would not relent from their 1st-round pick evaluation of Baker, which drove teams to choose cheaper options for their vacant QB positions.
Now, the Browns have been forced to settle for a conditional 2024 5th-round pick from the Carolina Panthers, which also included Cleveland still paying $10M of Baker’s $14.85M salary cap hit. The other part of his salary will be paid by the Panthers through incentives.
Yet, I still don’t know why the Browns are now trading Mayfield. With all of the talk of Deshaun Watson potentially receiving a 1-year suspension from the NFL, Baker Mayfield would have been the only other ‘starting’ quarterback on their roster.
With Mayfield and Watson gone, the Browns will go from AFC favorites to favorites for the 1st overall pick.
Okay, maybe I’m overstating how drastic the drop-off going from Watson/Mayfield to Jacoby Brisset (the only other QB on Cleveland’s roster) is. The Browns really should be lucky to make the 7th Wild Card spot if they have to rely on Brisset to be the starter next season.
I guess 2023 will be Cleveland’s year then.
As for Baker’s new situation, I don’t think Cleveland could have sent him to a worse spot for a QB.
Baker will be running for his life as he stands under center for the Panthers. Why? Well, last season the Panthers had the 31st ranked O-Line (according to PFF), and they really haven’t improved it all that much.
(In truth, drafting LT Ikeem Ekwonu was a good pick. But he has solved only one of the five issues on that line.)
Even worse, Baker will be throwing to the 23rd ranked (also according to PFF) receiving corps going into next season. Aside from DJ Moore, none of the Panthers other receivers should be considered reliable starters. Robbie Anderson stats dropped dramatically last season, going from having over 1,000-yards receiving in 2020 to a little more than 500-yards in 2021.
Terrace Marshall is the other notable receiver who the Panthers will need to rely on next year. A young, skillful player who was marginally on offense involved last season, only catching 17 passes for 138-yards. We’ll have to see if Baker and Marshall can develop some sort of chemistry that Sam Darnold wasn’t able to do with him.
Oh, right, I almost forgot. Christain McCaffrey is still on the Panthers.
He will be a great help for Baker in the six games he plays next season before he goes on long term IR once again. I’m sorry if I sound cruel, but I think McCaffrey really is on his last chance before the Panthers should just cut ties with him. I know he would be if I was running the Panthers organization.
He is CONSTANTLY injured. I know it is not his fault but if the Panthers are going to pay him $64M, then he needs to play at least 13/17 games. He’s only played 10 games over the past two season. It’s just not enough.
Anyway, this move is really a lose-lose for both Baker and the Browns, in my opinion. Cleveland should have gotten rid of Baker three months ago, while Mayfield will now suffer from a terrible O-Line and a mediocre WR corps.
Good luck in Carolina, Baker. You are going to need it.
PS: If you want to see more about the WR and O-Line rankings, I left a few links to PFF’s website down below:
Images Source:
Other Sources: (PFF) (Final 2021 NFL Offensive Line Rankings | NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | PFF)
