Baker Mayfield is headed to Tinseltown.
The Rams put in a waiver claim for the quarterback, who was released by the Panthers on Monday. Los Angeles had the fourth-highest waiver wire priority, which means that the Texans, Bears and Broncos opted not to add Mayfield to their roster.
The difference in Mayfield’s career compared to two years ago is gobsmacking.
In the 2020 season, Mayfield and the Browns went 11-5 and made the playoffs as a wild-card team and defeated the division-rival Steelers in the first round before losing 22-17 to the Chiefs in the divisional round.
However, last season was a major disappointment in Cleveland. The team dropped three of its final four games to finish 8-9 to miss the postseason.
Last offseason, Mayfield, who was the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, was in limbo. The team had exercised his fifth-year option a year earlier but the sides did not reach an agreement on a contract extension.
The Browns, in a stunning move, traded a package that included three first-round picks to the Texans for Deshaun Watson. They then immediately gave the quarterback, who was embroiled in a scandal after being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen Houston-area massage therapists, a five-year contract worth $230 million, fully guaranteed.
Watson was not charged with a crime and settled all but one of the original civil lawsuits in the matter. He returned to the field this past Sunday for the Browns after serving an 11-game suspension from the NFL.
Mayfield said he felt “disrespected” by the Browns — not necessarily because they were replacing him, but he implied that he felt the organization was deceptive in their communications with him on the matter.
While the Browns traded for Watson in March, it took until July for Mayfield to be traded to the Panthers.
Mayfield beat out fellow 2018 first-rounder Sam Darnold to start for the Panthers at the outset of the season, but the team did not live up to expectations. Head coach Matt Rhule was fired after a 1-4 start; the team went 1-5 in games started by Mayfield this season.
This week, Mayfield asked the Panthers for his release, and they obliged, as he was not a part of their long-term plans.
The defending Super Bowl champion Rams are effectively eliminated from the playoffs after starting 3-9. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was placed on IR after sustaining a neck injury not long after being diagnosed with a concussion.
The Rams are not incentivized to tank for a better draft pick, as the Lions hold their first-round pick from the Stafford trade before last season.
The other quarterbacks on the Rams’ roster are John Wolford — who started two games for the team in Stafford’s absence — and Bryce Perkins.
