NFL insider provides insight into Panthers interest in acquiring Baker Mayfield

Could Baker Mayfield be on the move? NFL insider Jonathan Jones believes the former Oklahoma quarterback could be headed east to play for the Carolina Panthers. Jones tweeted the following message regarding a potential move to Carolina for Mayfield:

“As minicamps begin today for the Browns and Panthers, trade talks between the teams continue surrounding QB Baker Mayfield, per sources. The main issue remains Mayfield’s salary and how much (or how little) teams pay.”

Jones added this in an additional tweet:

“There’s urgency on Carolina’s side to execute the deal soon so Mayfield can get some time in minicamp with the Panthers. For the Browns, it’s the best offer they have. Talks ongoing.”

So there you have it. An urgent Panthers front office wants to solve their quarterback situation but need to figure out whether they’re willing to fork over the kind of money Mayfield is looking for.

Panthers QB Carousel continues

If the Baker Mayfield deal winds up going through, Carolina will have a different starting quarterback for the fifth year in a row. I can’t imagine a team has ever gone five straight years with different leading passers. They just can’t figure out the titular position on the football field. Explains their lack of success lately.

Let’s take a look at this run of bad apples under center for the Panthers.

Cam Newton was last to man the position for consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. But he was injured during the 2019 season, promoting Kyle Allen to full-time starter. Allen did a fairly good job for a backup, but the Panthers ditched him to sign Teddy Bridgewater, who would also be replacing Newton after he left to take a minimum deal with the Patriots.

Newton’s stop in Foxborough was a famous debacle and a year later he was back in baby blue. Last offseason they took a chance on failed Jets first-rounder Sam Darnold. He morphed into Lamar Jackson for three weeks to start the season as the newer, more mobile Darnold led Carolina to a 3-0 record out of the gate.

Alas, four straight losses and a return to normalcy followed the hot start and Carolina receded in the standings. Darnold’s flame had run out and the Jets version of him returned, which prompted a benching. Then the Panthers got desperate and reached out to their old pal Cam Newton. He returned to Carolina to try and re-ignite their season. Instead, he lost five straight games and was also benched. Third-stringer PJ Walker even got a start after the Newton and Darnold disasters.

So now they turn their attention to Baker Mayfield, who poses the same question as Newton, Darnold, Bridgewater and Allen. Can you win in the postseason with this guy as your franchise quarterback.

Maybe they can unlock a new aspect of Baker in Carolina, but I doubt it. That strategy didn’t seem to work out with the Bridgewater and Darnold attempts. Seems to me like the Panthers have been shuffling question marks in and out of the quarterback position for half a decade while treading water well outside the playoff picture. Just don’t see how Baker is any different than their other risks over the last couple years.