Baker Mayfield opens up about his process to prepare for the start of training camp
Since getting the trade from Cleveland to Carolina, Baker Mayfield has begun cramming in order to be ready for training camp. At his introductory press conference with the Carolina Panthers, Mayfield described the work he’s putting in to prepare for camp, which begins in just two weeks.
“There’s a lot of cramming,” Mayfield said. “The last week or so, the last few days, it’s been a lot of just getting to know everybody, talking over the phone and finally, officially, today, I’ll get the playbook. There will be a lot of studying, a lot of cramming while still working out and doing all that so, it’s a pretty hectic couple weeks before training camp. But it’s so exciting.
“It’s the start of this new chapter and I’m trying to balance out how much to reach out to guys and getting to know my teammates while also understanding I have to know my job inside and out. There’s a lot of balancing of priorities.”
In 2021, Mayfield had the lowest production numbers of his career so far. He posted 3,010 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He battled multiple injuries and played in just 14 games.
The former Oklahoma Sooners star is about to engage in a battle for the starting job versus Sam Darnold who played 12 games for Carolina last season.
Mayfield explains pay cut to join Carolina
It’s not often that a former first-round quarterback takes a pay cut on their guaranteed contract to move to another team – Baker Mayfield knows that. However, his situation with the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson drove him to seek that necessary solution to find a new home and a new opportunity to extend his career as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The former Heisman Trophy winner shared how he and his agents arrived at the $3.5 million pay cut that resulted in his trade from the Browns to Carolina.
“For me, the process was definitely interesting,” Mayfield said. “I don’t think there was any manual for it. You’ve seen guys give up money and part ways but it’s not very often that it’s a guaranteed contract that it happens with. For me, it was about the next steps forward and finding a new place. Somewhere that wanted me, somewhere that I would be able to go in and compete and have a fresh start, so that’s where that all came from.”
Mayfield went on to admit that the starting figure for the amount he is giving up was not the final $3.5 million, but he is focused on his own improvement, not the numbers.
“Not a very easy past couple of months in terms of negotiating and trying to come down to that number. It wasn’t the original number but I let the people that handle that stuff for a living take care of that and I was working on becoming more healthy, working out and grinding, doing the things that I can control.”