Baker Mayfield could resurrect NFL career with Sean McVay, Rams
If you’re a quarterback with talent in the NFL, the league won’t give up on you very quickly or easily. Not that they should, either. Baker Mayfield has had a pretty brutal couple of years recently after setting the NFL rookie passing touchdowns record in 2018 and looking like he was the savior of the Cleveland Browns franchise. In 2022, Mayfield has had a pretty brutal year professionally. The Browns made a very risky trade for Deshaun Watson, gave him $230 million fully guaranteed, and refused to trade Mayfield until late in the offseason.
They then traded Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers, a team that was clearly going to be bad this season. That has resulted in disaster for all involved parties, and Mayfield found himself hitting the waiver wire a couple of days ago, to the shock and surprise of most everyone.
The Los Angeles Rams have Matthew Stafford on the shelf for the rest of this season, and with the way John Wolford and Bryce Perkins have played in his place, they decided to place a claim on Mayfield to bring him in as a late season dart throw.
Los Angeles Rams add former no. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield
Rams head coach Sean McVay is obviously known around the league for being one of the best offensive gurus in the game today. He and the Rams won the Super Bowl last year and this guy knows how to call an offense. Unfortunately, the 2022 season has not gone according to plan — not in the slightest — for the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Not only is Stafford on the shelf with a concussion, but the team is also without superstar wide receiver Cooper Kupp, free agent acquisition Allen Robinson, and a variety of others. Still, McVay is undoubtedly the “best” coach that Baker Mayfield will have had since he came into the NFL. Although the Rams are bad this year, the environment in Los Angeles will also be the only true winning organization Mayfield has been part of.
It’s always fascinating to see former great prospects go to really good teams after things didn’t work out in their previous stops. Not every player that gets drafted high by a bad team in the NFL can overcome the losing culture of those particular franchises.
I won’t sit here and say that Mayfield has gotten a raw deal entirely. Kevin Stefanski is a good coach, but I also think that playing for the Browns and Panthers with the drama that has gone on at both of those spots would have been a lot for anyone to handle.
Mayfield has been bad and hasn’t progressed from the playmaker we saw back in his rookie season, but is that guy still in there somewhere? Is he capable of going out there and working within the confines of an offense like Sean McVay?
This will now be the third no. 1 overall pick to run McVay’s offense. Before Baker Mayfield, it was Jared Goff and obviously Matthew Stafford. Mayfield will become the third no. 1 overall pick to run McVay’s offense with the Rams, and you can’t help but wonder what kind of success he might have in it. Could he revive his career? Time will tell, but he’s going to get his shot rather quickly.