Baker Mayfield's motto throughout his tumultuous offseason has remained the same: Control what you can control.
Mayfield couldn't control the fact he suffered multiple injuries in the 2021 season, nor could he necessarily control the Browns' evaluation and opinion of him. What he could control, however, was how much money he'd be willing to give up from his guaranteed contract in exchange for a fresh start elsewhere.
After a prolonged negotiation period, that control finally paid off with a fresh start in Charlotte with the Carolina Panthers following last week's trade.
"I'm extremely excited for this new start in Charlotte," Mayfield said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. "Obviously, I think it's kind of known now, some familiar faces there, some people that I know and a lot more to meet. It's just an exciting time for myself and my family and just this new chapter. No animosity towards Cleveland. It's a good football town that gave me the first four years of my career and thankful for those trials and tribulations, all the challenges, a lot to learn from and look back on and reflect. Just really focused on right now and being a Carolina Panther and pumped up to do so."
The change of scenery doesn't guarantee Mayfield a starting job -- at least not at this point in July. Yes, it's truly difficult to envision a scenario in which Sam Darnold outplays Mayfield in training camp, but that's the stance general manager Scott Fitterer took on Tuesday.
Fitterer told reporters the addition of Mayfield wasn't necessarily about acquiring a new starter, but about shoring up the team's situation under center. And when it comes to determining the team's starter in 2022, neither holds an advantage at this stage.
"This is an open competition," Fitterer said. "The reason why we added Baker was to make the group better as a whole. Our philosophy is to have competition not just in the quarterback room, but every position. So, if we see an opportunity where we can get better, where we (can) add a player and it makes sense for us as a team, makes sense for us financially, makes sense for us just from a position standpoint.
"With Baker being out there, having the conversations, it made sense for us. I think the competition is going to make Sam better. Sam really had a nice spring for us, stepped up, showed a lot of edge, threw the ball really well and I think competition will be good for him, it will be good for P.J. (Walker), it will be good for Matt Corral, you know, the young guy that's going to be in the room learning. And it's good for Baker -- this is a fresh start for him. So, I think overall, this is a very healthy situation for us all to be in."
Fitterer certainly attempted to sell Darnold to those asking him questions, touting the former No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft as a player who "had three good games to start the year" in 2021 before regressing and missing time due to injury. The focus for the Panthers in 2022 is on protecting the quarterback, be it Darnold or Mayfield, with the belief Carolina "can play good football" if the Panthers can keep their signal-caller upright.
Carolina's addition of Mayfield sets up an intriguing situation for two of the top three picks from the 2018 class. Once seen as competitors who first faced off in Week 3 of the 2018 season, Darnold and Mayfield are now teammates. The two are no longer serving as fuel for a battle of bragging rights between two franchises (New York and Cleveland); instead, they're preparing to fight for one job with an entirely different club.
Animosity isn't expected. Mayfield described Darnold as a "great guy" who has already welcomed him into the Panthers organization. Darnold is no longer an adversary or a measuring stick, but a teammate sharing the same locker room as Mayfield.
"I think when you're at any level as high as this in the NFL nobody has the mentality of being a backup. We're at this level because we compete to be the very best," Mayfield said. "That's why Sam's here as well, and that's why Matt Corral just got drafted, and P.J. Walker competed and fought through a lot of adversity as well. So 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.
"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. However that happens, I'm going to do my job. I'm going to fill whatever role is expected of me and be a great leader and a great teammate."
If the job ends up going to Mayfield, he'll have an excellent opportunity to earn some revenge at the start of the season when the Panthers host the Browns in Week 1.
"You know, any time you get the pads on for the first time, it's live fire, it's always a great time," Mayfield said of facing his old team to start 2022. "Obviously, it's going to be a special one. It's gonna be a home game and playing against a former team, a similar situation to what I've gone through in the past with transferring from college to college. So gotta handle it the best way possible, and my job is to put our team in the best position to win, and however I can help do that, that's what I'm going to do."
Mayfield will need to prove two very important points in his first season in Carolina: His performance in 2021 was not reflective of who he is as a player, and he can be a quality teammate around whom players can rally. He'll have a few familiar faces waiting for him in Carolina in former teammates Rashard Higgins and Austin Corbett, as well as offensive line coach James Campen, who spent the 2019 season in Cleveland. They already know who Mayfield is as a person and a teammate, and despite the negativity regarding Mayfield in Cleveland in his final months as a Brown, Fitterer believes the work they've done vetting Mayfield will prove to be more reliable than the narrative that emerged from the shore of Lake Erie.
"I think any time you're making a transaction, you always do your homework, you always talk to as many people as you can. In this instance, we reached out to a lot of people that knew Baker, that were there when they drafted Baker, that were in the organization," Fitterer said. "I've had coaches who had coached him in the past that actually called me unsolicited to go to bat for him. So, we did do a lot of work and, in the end, it all came back as a fiery, competitive guy. He wants to win, he wants to be great, and I think as an organization, we embrace that attitude. We like guys that are like that. This will be a fresh start for him here."
Mayfield is ready for the fresh start. We'll see if it leads him to a long-term opportunity with the Panthers.
