Steve Smith Sr. on if Panthers acquire Baker Mayfield: ‘I will accept him’

As a franchise great and preseason color analyst for the Panthers, Steve Smith Sr. will (perhaps grudgingly) beat the drum for Baker Mayfield if he ends up in Carolina.

Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. isn’t exactly Baker Mayfield’s biggest fan. In fact, he’s probably been whatever the exact opposite of that is.

But, he’s willing to put his feelings behind him.

In a Twitter post from Wednesday, Smith Sr. addressed the possibility of his old team acquiring the Cleveland Browns quarterback. And although he’s said some foul stuff about the former No. 1 overall pick in the past, the franchise’s all-time leading receiver just wants to see the Panthers thrive.

“I’ve been very critical of Baker Mayfield,” Smith Sr. said. “I’ve said a lot of negative things towards him. Take it for what you want. Assume whatever you wanna assume. But I’ll say this—if Baker Mayfield is released or happens to come to the Carolina Panthers, how will I respond?

“My response is—you support your team. You may not like—just like the people watching this or listening to this, they didn’t like me. But they supported the team, the team that I was on. So if Baker Mayfield comes to the Carolina Panthers, as the preseason color analyst, I will accept him the same way you accept Sam Darnold. The same drum that I’m beating for Sam Darnold, and all those other guys, I have to beat it for Baker Mayfield.”

That beat could come soon, as the Panthers will look to seriously reevaluate the state of their quarterback situation following next week’s mandatory minicamp. It will, however, be up to Cleveland to meet Carolina on such a deal—as general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule seem inclined to sit tight until they get what they want.

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