Panthers Name QB Baker Mayfield Week 1 Starter

The Carolina Panthers have announced that they have named QB Baker Mayfield the starting quarterback for Week 1. 

Confirmed ✅

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 22, 2022

Last week, it was reported that Carolina was expected to name Mayfield the starter.

Mayfield has been competing with QB Sam Darnold for the job, but he’s now captured the starting role.

Mayfield, 26, was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2018. He just finished the fourth year of a four-year, $32.68 million rookie deal that included a $21.85 million signing bonus. 

The Browns exercised Mayfield’s fifth-year option which would have cost Cleveland $18.858 million fully guaranteed in 2022. However, Cleveland traded Mayfield to Carolina in exchange for a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick. 

Cleveland agreed to cover $10.5 million of Mayfield’s salary with the Panthers paying out the rest. 

In 2021, Mayfield appeared in 14 games and completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown.