Baker Mayfield released by Panthers. Go West, young man.

[Auggie]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35189052/whats-next-baker-mayfield-being-released-panthers

When the the Carolina Panthers agreed in July to send a conditional 2024 draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for quarterback Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, they were hoping to resurrect his career.

The renaissance didn't happen, and it wasn't even close.

Mayfield went 1-5 as the starter and was on target for career lows in every major statistical category, including a 16.8 Total QBR that ranked last in the league. That led to his release on Monday, with the Panthers (4-8) set to go with Sam Darnold and PJ Walker as their top quarterbacks for the rest of the season.

Mayfield asked to be waived, but he likely would have been released soon anyway. The timing could be good with the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens possibly in the market for a veteran quarterback after Sunday, as the 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo (broken left foot) for the rest of the season and the Ravens could be without Lamar Jackson (left knee) for a while.

San Francisco already added Josh Johnson, at least in part because of his familiarity with the offense from his time with the team in 2020. Mayfield played in a version of coach Kyle Shanahan's offense with the Cleveland Browns, but could he catch up on the verbiage enough to be an upgrade over Johnson in the near future?

Thoughts, anyone?