NFL insider lauds Panthers’ logic behind Baker Mayfield trade

As MMQB’s Albert Breer opines, “average” might just be all the Panthers need out of Baker Mayfield in 2022.

You may have seen this tweet regarding the Carolina Panthers pop up on the old timeline at some point over the past two weeks . . .

To be fair, Sharp is just stating the facts. And even his insinuation, which paints the Panthers in a not-so-bright light, isn’t exactly off either.

But if you at Carolina’s move for Baker Mayfield through a narrow lens, it’s actually quite brilliant.

And that’s what MMQB’s senior NFL reporter Albert Breer just did. In his latest post, Breer states that the Panthers—despite their seemingly desperate attempts at throwing noodles against the wall to see what sticks—actually made a sensible deal with the Cleveland Browns for the former No. 1 overall pick.

” . . . I think the Panthers’ logic was sound,” he writes. “At a baseline, he can give them average quarterback play. And if that sounds like a shot at Mayfield, it most certainly is not. The floor in Carolina was, clearly, much lower in 2022. If that floor is now at, say, having a quarterback who ranks in the top 20, and the roster has improved as much as the guys there think it has, the team can be pretty good.”

Pretty good, huh? Well, that might not be a stretch.

Not only will Mayfield have himself a nice toy box to play with—one including running back Christian McCaffrey and wideouts DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr. and his Cleveland buddy Rashard Higgins—but he’ll also have what is, perhaps, the best offensive line the franchise has rostered in quite some time. Plus, the other side of the ball ain’t too shabby either, as the Carolina defense allowed the second-fewest yards in 2021.

The ingredients for success, or at least for a season better than the last, are all seemingly on the table. It may just be a matter of if they ultimately mix for head coach Matt Rhule and his latest (and most important) recipe.

[pickup_prop id=”26096″]

[lawrence-related id=655403,655272]

[listicle id=655279]