The Cleveland Browns have finally done it. After months of speculation, the Browns traded quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional fifth-round pick. Mayfield, the former number-one overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, will now be teammates with the third overall pick from that class, Sam Darnold.
Meanwhile, the Browns will be entering the 2022 season with Deshaun Watson as their starter, though the threat of a suspension looms over the star signal-caller. So, how did both teams do in this trade?
That's what we'll determine here. Without further ado, let's whip out the grade book and assess how the Browns and Panthers did in the Mayfield trade.
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Browns Grade: B-
Mayfield wanted no part of the Browns. In a perfect world, he would have stuck around as perhaps the league's best backup behind Watson, in the event of a suspension.
However, it was clear that a change of scenery was needed for both parties. That being said, things still didn't unfold the way Cleveland would have liked.
The Seahawks were seemingly never interested in Mayfield, which left the Panthers as the only real suitor. Backed into a corner, Cleveland could only muster a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick in return for Mayfield.
However, the Browns did manage to save $8 million in cap space, which is excellent, considering that teams were clamoring for Cleveland to eat most of his $18.9 million cap hit in 2022.
That Mayfield was willing to shave $3.5 million off his salary for Cleveland is a small miracle. Given the circumstances of the trade and the little leverage the Browns had, this is a solid job.
There aren't many scenarios, outside of a Panthers Super Bowl win, where Cleveland will come to regret this trade. But there is another deal that they may soon regret.
Panthers Grade: B+
Matt Rhule's chemistry experiment involving three starting quarterbacks couldn't have gone any worse, as neither of Darnold, Cam Newton or P.J. Walker looked like a competent NFL starter down the stretch for Carolina last year.
A change needed to be made. Acquiring Mayfield for a fifth-round draft choice while only having to pay him $5 million has to be considered an impressive move by the Carolina front office. It's a low-risk, high-reward move.
Mayfield, who was robbed of a Pro Bowl berth back in 2020, led the Browns to an 11-win season and the playoffs. It's pretty clear that he's an upgrade over Darnold, who hasn't yet sniffed the postseason as an NFL starter.
The Panthers don't get full marks only because of their failure to land a more established option, but that's just a minor quibble.
With a change of scenery, it's not hard to see a motivated Mayfield going out and putting up numbers reminiscent of his 2020 season. With capable weapons like Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson around him, the pieces are there for Baker Mayfield to make Carolina look smart for this deal.
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