Baker Mayfield Isn't an NFL Starter and It's Time the Panthers Realize It

From just about the moment that David Tepper purchased the Carolina Panthers, the team has been on a mission to find a franchise quarterback.

In 2020, the Panthers tried rolling out Teddy Bridgewater, who finished 17th in the league in passing yards, 24th in touchdown passes and 22nd in passer rating. He won four of his 15 starts.

After that failed experiment, the Panthers acquired Sam Darnold from the New York Jets. Darnold was 28th in passing yards, tied for 31st in touchdown passes (nine) and 30th in passer rating after playing just 11 games. He, too, won four games.

After that failed experiment, the Panthers acquired Baker Mayfield, the former No. 1 overall pick who led the Cleveland Browns to their first postseason win since 1994. But after five weeks, the Mayfield experiment may be the biggest failure of all—and it's time for the Panthers to come to grips with that sad reality.

Editor's Note: The Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday morning. The team announced that defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach Steve Wilks will take over as interim head coach.

Entering Sunday's matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, Mayfield's completion percentage of 54.7 ranked 31st in the NFL. His 747 passing yards ranked 24th. His 6.4 yards per attempt ranked 27th.

Mayfield had thrown just four touchdown passes against three interceptions and had a lower passer rating than Marcus Mariota of the Falcons. And Davis Mills of the Texans. And Daniel Jones of the Giants. And Jacoby Brissett, the man who (temporarily, at least) replaced him in Cleveland.

To his credit, Mayfield didn't deflect blame for his woeful play over the first month of the season.

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"I pride myself on being a guy that elevates the guys around him and being able to lead at an extremely high level,'' Mayfield told reporters last Wednesday. "And obviously, that has not happened yet. So I'm working really hard on that. And it starts with me just doing my job the very best I can and going from there. Yeah, I take a lot of blame for that, and I consistently will.''

Mayfield also expressed confidence that he would rebound in short order.

I have experience at being able to bounce back, being able to handle things the right way and to lead," he said. "For me, we'll be just fine.''

That confidence lasted until about 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.

Yes, it came against arguably the best defense in the entire NFL. But Mayfield was once again dreadful Sunday against the 49ers. The problems that have dogged him all season long were once again on display.

Mayfield's accuracy was spotty—he completed just 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 215 yards. The signal-caller also failed to throw a touchdown pass, and he tossed a pick-six on a play where Niners cornerback Emmanuel Moseley appeared to be his intended target.

Either that, or Mayfield believes that Christian McCaffrey is nine feet tall. For the record, he is not.

Mayfield's passer rating for the game was a pitiful 61.7. Per StatMuse, Mayfield now owns the lowest passer rating of any qualifying quarterback in the NFL. Lower than all those quarterbacks mentioned earlier. Lower even than Justin Fields of the Bears.

It's not like Mayfield doesn't have weapons in wide receivers DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson. McCaffrey is one of the best pass-catching backs in the game. Carolina's offensive line isn't good (27th in the NFL per Pro Football Focus), but every team below them has a quarterback playing better than Mayfield.

Two of those quarterbacks are Jones and Zach Wilson. Seriously.

After losing to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4, Rhule was evasive when asked if he might consider making a change under center.

"At the end of the day, I'm on the headset, I see the things, I know that it's never just one person here, one person there, it's a lot of different things, so I'll try to give you a really well thought-out answer after watching tapes," Rhule said.

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"All that being said, I believe that we can play better than that. I just feel like we have to expect more from all of us as an offense, and it starts with me first. Offensively, we have to score more points. ... So yeah, we have to get it corrected, but in terms of any one person, I just don't think it's right to speak on it right now."

One week and another ugly loss later, it's danged sure time to start talking about it now.

It's not like this is an aberration or a new phenomenon. It's a continuation of a bad 2021 season in Cleveland in which Mayfield barely completed 60 percent of his passes, threw 13 interceptions and posted a passer rating of 83.1 that looks great compared to this year's mark. Granted, he played through a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Nonetheless, Mayfield has regressed across the board this year. He's become an inaccurate, one-read quarterback who panics if that primary read is covered and forces throws into places they most assuredly should not go.

Say what you will about how the Cleveland Browns did it, but with each passing week, it becomes more and more evident why Cleveland had no desire to re-sign Mayfield.

This isn't just a matter of Mayfield's play, either. Rhule is on the thinnest of ice as Carolina's head coach, as beat writers are already speculating that he could be fired at any time. If Rhule wants to save his job (even if only temporarily), he needs to show a willingness to change things up.

Rhule has even been given an out here. After giving way to backup P.J. Walker late in Sunday's loss, Mayfield hobbled to the postgame presser in a walking boot. While speaking to reporters, Mayfield downplayed the injury.

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“I’ve got a walking boot on, my leg’s not cut off,” Mayfield said. “I’ll be all right.”

Mayfield might be all right, but the Panthers won't be if he starts against the Rams in Week 6. The injury affords Rhule to pull Mayfield for reasons other than that he stinks.

Darnold isn't going to magically fix things. In fact, last week Rhule indicated that he's "not close" to returning from his ankle sprain while simultaneously offering (gulp) an endorsement of Mayfield.

"Baker is our quarterback,'' Rhule said. "We have to continue to find ways to help him.''

Rhule needs to worry less about helping Mayfield and more about helping the other 10 players on the Carolina offense. And the reality is that right now, Walker does that more than Mayfield.

The last thing the Panthers wanted in 2022 was another failed experiment with a veteran quarterback. Another lost season. Another year of double-digit losses.

But that's where they are. Mayfield isn't the answer under center. He's not even a marginal NFL starter.

The sooner the Panthers admit that and make a switch, the better off they will be—and the sooner they can focus on the quarterback class in the 2023 draft.