Panthers QB Baker Mayfield focused on improving, not just beating Browns

As had been expected for at least a week, if not longer, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule announced on Monday that Baker Mayfield will be his starting quarterback over Sam Darnold. 

Carolina traded with the Cleveland Browns for Mayfield in July after Cleveland acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans via a blockbuster deal executed in March. Mayfield won't have to wait long to see some familiar faces, as he and his new teammates will welcome none other than the Browns to town for the regular-season opener on Sept. 11. 

While speaking with reporters after Rhule confirmed his decision, Darnold said that he intends to "do everything I can to support Baker and get him ready to play a game." Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Mayfield later told reporters Darnold is a "great guy" before the 27-year-old was asked how he'll feel facing his former employer in his first game as Carolina's QB1. 

"Obviously, there’s a lot of attachment there," Mayfield admitted. "Like I told you guys at Wofford. I’m not gonna sit here and be a robot and say that it doesn’t mean anything. It will. But right now all that matters is me continuing to improve until this regular season starts." 

One can't help but wonder what would have been for Mayfield and the Browns had he not suffered a serious injury to his non-throwing shoulder in Week 2 of the 2021 campaign that impacted him throughout the fall and forced him to undergo offseason surgery. As noted by ESPN stats, he finished his final season with Cleveland 27th overall with an 83.1 passer rating and with a 35.1 total QBR, and he matched 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions across 14 games. 

A healthy Mayfield will now be looking to prove a point to Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, general manager Andrew Berry, and head coach Kevin Stefanski a few weeks down the road.