The tale of Baker Mayfield’s time in Cleveland has finally come to an end: the Browns have traded him to the Panthers in exchange for a conditional fifth-round draft selection in 2024.

Baker Mayfield to Carolina in exchange for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero claimed on Wednesday that the Browns and Panthers had agreed to a deal that would send Mayfield to Carolina in exchange for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick (which has a chance to become a fourth-round selection). A medical examination is necessary before the transaction can be finalized. Carolina did not reveal the transaction until later.

According to a report from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Cleveland will pay Mayfield $10.5 million this season, saving over $8 million in cash and salary cap space. In the meanwhile, Carolina will pay the fifth-year quarterback almost $5 million in salary. Mayfield, who was initially guaranteed $18.858 million, consented to a salary reduction of $3.5 million, although he may make back the money he sacrificed via incentives.

Baker Mayfield was selected first overall in the 2018 draft, which marked the beginning of his adventure with the Cleveland Browns. Mayfield’s career was marked by a variety of highs and lows, but the Browns’ pursuit of Deshaun Watson and their subsequent acquisition of him signaled the beginning of the end for Mayfield’s time with the team. Mayfield got dissatisfied and asked the Browns for a trade shortly after Watson first ruled out the Browns as a potential destination for him shortly after Watson removed the Browns from consideration. The Browns were trying to persuade Watson to agree to a trade to Cleveland.

The Mayfield era

The Baker Mayfield era in Cleveland was almost over by the time Watson reversed his decision and selected the Browns as his new team. Since the middle of March, the Browns have been shopping Baker Mayfield around, but since they have very little power in trade discussions, the club has kept Mayfield on its roster and has kept him away from the facility while they wait for an offer that is satisfactory.

When the trade was announced, Dee and Jimmy Haslam, the owners of the Cleveland Browns, released a statement in which they thanked Baker for all of his efforts to the team. “Since the time he was selected, he has given his all for the sake of this city and this organization. Because of his fiercely competitive nature, he was able to do things in Cleveland that no player at his position had done for a very long time. This caused the crowd to get very thrilled.”

Baker Mayfield is going to Carolina, the same place where fellow top-three pick Sam Darnold from 2018 is currently playing on a virtually similar rookie contract. Mayfield and Darnold are both on the fifth and final year of their respective contracts, which were both slated to account for a total of $18.858 million in salary-cap space between them. This figure has been reduced to around $5 million as a result of the transaction for Mayfield, which also casts questions on the future of Darnold.

According to Garafolo, the previous first, second, and third overall choices in the 2018 NFL Draft will compete against one another in training camp to see who will start for the Carolina Panthers. Additionally, third-round pick Matt Corral is on the team’s roster.

Darnold was acquired by Carolina in 2021 through trade to serve as a rehabilitation project for the Panthers, but he was unable to demonstrate that he was deserving of a long-term commitment. Mayfield, however, underperformed during the 2017 season despite playing through several injuries, which caused the Browns to look for other alternatives as a quarterback before eventually trading him to the Panthers.

It would seem that the Panthers will look to Mayfield in 2022 as their next attempt at a comeback. Mayfield had surgery on his shoulder to repair a torn labrum and a shoulder fracture, and if he can return totally healthy, he will have one season to demonstrate that he can achieve what Darnold was unable to do.

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