Baker Mayfield reveals his approach to battling to be the Panthers' starting QB

Baker Mayfield‘s future was uncertain after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to one of the largest quarterback contracts in NFL history in March. But after months of uncertainty, Mayfield finally found his home last Wednesday when the Carolina Panthers traded for Mayfield in exchange for a future 2024 fourth or fifth-round pick. Mayfield joins a roster with an interesting quarterback room, and was asked in his first press conference about his expectations regarding being week one starter for the Panthers.

“I think when you’re at any level as high as this in the NFL, nobody has the mentality of being a backup,” Mayfield said. “We’re at this level because we compete to be the very best and that’s why Sam’s here as well, and that’s why Matt Corral just got drafted and PJ Walker’s competed and fought through a lot of adversity as well.”

Sam Darnold and Mayfield should be familiar with each other as the two were both a part of the 2018 draft class, Mayfield being the first overall pick of the draft and Darnold the number three pick. Last year as a starter for the Panthers, Darnold went 4-7 throwing for 9 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Mayfield is coming off one of his worst seasons that was riddled with injury, but has proven in the past that he can lead a team to the playoffs, something the Panthers haven’t done since the 2017 season. A healthy, experienced Mayfield can definitely help this roster, but he’ll have to do so in a hurry. The Panthers report to training camp July 26 and Mayfield will have to learn a new offensive system.

Regardless of his role, Mayfield has the potential to impact winning for Carolina, in a NFC South division that is always tightly competitive and has a lot of question marks going into the 2022 season.

“My intention is to become the best quarterback I can be, help this team win and that’s why I’m happy to be in Carolina,” Mayfield said. “I feel like the team is very close to being really really good, we just have to put the pieces together and come together as a team and however that happens, I’m going to do my job and fill whatever role is to be expected of me and be a great leader and a great teammate.”