By Jordan Long
The Cleveland Browns finally shipped quarterback Baker Mayfield out. They agreed to a trade with the Carolina Panthers which sends a 2024 5th-round pick to Cleveland. This move leaves the future of Panthers’ quarterback Sam Darnold up in the air.
Darnold was traded from the New York Jets to the Carolina Panthers on April 6, 2021. This gave the Panthers a starting quarterback. Last season, Darnold started in 11 games, going 4-7 as their starter. He passed for 2,527 yards and 9 touchdowns but had trouble throwing the ball downfield with a total of 13 interceptions. Of course, it was Darnold’s first season in Carolina and he was learning the offense.
Before the trade of Mayfield, it was expected Darnold would compete with rookie Matt Corral for the starting position. Of course, Darnold would win that competition because he has played 4 years in the NFL. Corral is a rookie who is learning the NFL game.
It wasn’t anticipated Carolina was going to look to upgrade the quarterback position with yet another trade. There were rumors they may go after Mayfield during the offseason. Once July hit, it seemed like they were content with their quarterbacks since training camp opens on July 26th.
Everything changed yesterday. Mayfield was not happy with the Browns organization and waited to be traded out. The Browns added quarterback Deshaun Watson in the offseason and even gave Watson a large contract, basicly saying it was the end for Mayfield in Cleveland adding to his discontent. The deal for Watson is 5 years, paying him $230 million. Watson though could be suspended this year because of his off the field allegations. Instead of keeping Mayfield so that the Browns could have a veteran backup on the roster, they traded him to Carolina.
With this move, the Panthers could keep both Mayfield and Darnold on the roster. This would allow the quarterbacks to battle it out for the starting job in training camp and preseason games. At least in this case the Panthers have a veteran quarterback as the backup.
For Darnold though he has one more year left. Now there is no guarantee he will make the roster. The worst case is the Panthers cut him loose if Darnold struggles in preseason games. At least then a team could sign him since he is a veteran quarterback giving him a fresh start.
The Panthers’ other option is to trade Darnold. He is going to be a free agent anyway once the upcoming season is over. This would allow Carolina to receive something back for Darnold even if it is late round draft picks. Carolina doesn’t seem to want to go that route yet.
The Panthers at this point are content to keep both Mayfield and Darnold on the roster. Maybe this will light a fire under Darnold. He could end up beating Mayfield for the starting job in the preseason. Their play will determine who wins the job. Of course it is possible if Mayfield wins the job and struggles during the season, they could turn back to Darnold.
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