Imagine former Panthers Baker Mayfield and Christian McCaffrey playing together again in San Francisco, leading the 49ers to the NFC playoffs. That weird scenario could soon become reality.
Carolina, after trading with Cleveland to acquire Mayfield late in the summer as its starting quarterback, reportedly is parting ways with him just months later. While the Browns moved Mayfield to make room for Deshaun Watson, the Panthers ended up preferring first P.J. Walker and then a healthy Sam Darnold over Mayfield.
But the timing of Mayfield’s release couldn’t be better. The 49ers lost Jimmy Garoppolo for the season with a left foot injury in Sunday’s home win over the Dolphins. The Ravens aren’t sure how much time Lamar Jackson will miss after hurting his knee in Sunday’s home win over the Broncos.
There are some QB-needy teams out there. Don’t rule out a team also adding Mayfield to improve its backup situation. Just don’t expect a team that’s on the quarterback carousel — such as the Texans or Colts — to add Mayfield to a messy mix.
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Here’s breaking down Mayfield’s best fits among the landing spots, keeping in mind he will first need to clear waivers to become a true free agent.
1. San Francisco 49ers
The discussion should start and end here, to be honest. The 49ers have lost Trey Lance (fractured fibula) and Garoppolo early and late this season. Although they like rookie Brock Purdy, the 262nd and final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, he’s still an inexperienced and somewhat developmental seventh-round selection in charge of a high-upside, playoff-bound team.
The 49ers also have the ideal offensive system for Mayfield under Kyle Shanahan. Mayfield plays well when he has the support of a strong offensive line, reliable rushing attack and good short-to-intermediate weapons. He had his best season under Kevin Stefanski’s Browns, there’s a connection there to what Kirk Cousins did in Minnesota, which brings it back to Mayfield having a shot to have decent success with Shanahan.
San Franciso needs its QB to be a point guard and just distribute to the many diverse weapons. McCaffrey is now first on that list, but Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk and Jauan Jennings also are there to lift Mayfield.
Mayfield handing off and dumping off to McCaffrey will feel immediately comfortable as he absorbs a new offense. Keep in mind he was a quick study for the Panthers’ lesser scheme.
The 49ers will be hoping no other NFC contender makes a move to block their plans. But their mild competition for Mayfield’s services will come from the AFC.
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2. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have Tua Tagovailoa healthy and starting at a high level, but behind him, Teddy Bridgewater has a knee issues that has made him inactive of late, leaving them with rookie Skylar Thompson as the top backup.
The Dolphins just lost to the 49ers, so they are higher on waiver priority. Would they make the move for insurance purposes, given one can also connect Mike McDaniel with Shanahan’s system? The problem here is the fact Mayfield, if called upon to play, may not be able to handle the downfield passing game to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as desired and Miami’s offensive line is hurting without its tackles.
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3. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have some uncertainty about Jackson, also a pending free agent. Tyler Huntley is a prime plug-and-play backup, but they also might need some insurance should something happen to Huntley, who also can be effective running often.
This would also be a run-heavy intermediate passing situation for Mayfield, though he doesn’t offer the same athletic element to create with his feet, an important element for Greg Roman. But the Ravens have been compressed of late and going as Mark Andrews goes and that lines up more with Mayfield’s style.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers should have had more interest as a stash behind Tom Brady when the Browns put him on the block. But they might have more now that he doesn’t cost any compensation and can be added on the cheap. It’s not clear whether Brady will actually retire after the season, but regardless, No. 2 Blaine Gabbert is also a pending free agent. Mayfield can be a mild future consideration and the Bucs can claim him ahead of playing the 49ers.
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5. Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have Kyler Murray, who succeed Mayfield as the Heisman Trophy winner in Lincoln Riley’s spread system at Oklahoma. Their backup is Colt McCoy and the third-stringer is former Raven Trace McSorley. McCoy is 36 and McSorley is a pending free agent. It’s not guaranteed that Kliff Kingsbury will see another year as head coach and the Cardinals may go in a different direction with scheming for Murray. But in their current state, Mayfield isn’t a bad bench flyer.
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