The Panthers Will Reportedly Release Baker Mayfield, Igniting Speculation He'll Soon Be Headed To The 49ers

Matt Fitzgerald12/05/2022 4:30 PM

Eakin Howard. Getty Images.

Given that 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending foot injury on Sunday and the timing of Baker Mayfield's outright release from the Carolina Panthers, you can't help but connect the dots here.

BAKER TO THE BAY AREA!? How wild would that be? The former No. 1 overall pick, starting for a team who traded three No. 1 picks to draft a No. 3 overall pick because their incumbent QB kept getting hurt. Only for said No. 3 overall pick to get injured in Week 2 this year. And now the veteran Jimmy G is out of the lineup once again.

I made that last little 'graph intentionally confusing to see if you're awake on this fine late Monday morning.

Honestly, where else would Baker go? Where else would he want to go? No other team comes to mind who has such an obvious need at quarterback, an excellent roster, and no in-house option you'd be particularly fired up about.

Not taking anything whatsoever away from what reigning Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy did in subbing for Garoppolo and leading the Niners to a win over the Dolphins. Hell of a job.

It's just that…well, he's Brock Purdy. He was the last pick in the 2022 draft for a reason.

How poetic it'd be, though, to see a DFL draft pick and the very first selection of the 2018 draft sharing the same QB room, with a franchise's Super Bowl resting squarely on their shoulders. I doubt Baker would start right away, but unless he forgot how to play football completely/was scarred forever by Ben McAdoo's incompetence in Carolina, he could be at least a serviceable game manager with all the skill position talent around him. Or so I would think.

To circle back to the main man in question here: Kyle Shanahan's offense is similar to the system Mayfield had a lot of success with in 2020 under Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. It wouldn't be a totally foreign set of concepts, so digesting the legendarily dense Shanahan playbook wouldn't be as daunting of a task for Baker as some other vet getting signed off the street.

I don't mean to get too far ahead of things. Hell, the Texans could put a fucking waiver claim in for Mayfield. What a nightmare that would be. But I think San Francisco is Baker's best shot to salvage whatever might be left of his career. Any other team who might be interested in him either have superior options in-house and are contending, or are in a situation where it's in their best interest to tank the rest of the way.

The only other team that makes a lick of sense is the Indianapolis Colts. I hope for my buddy John Rich that Chris Ballard doesn't go in on another misguided stopgap QB option to try to sell the fan base on for 2023.

Just embrace it, y'all. I think Baker Mayfield is about to go to the 49ers and we might see him starting games again here very soon. He SUCKED for the Panthers this year, yet if there's any spot where everything would be set up for him to succeed, it'd be with the Niners.

I'd love to see Baker ball out, grab his junk and talk shit again. His steep decline in Carolina was one of the more stunning developments I can recall seeing for someone who once set the rookie passing TD record and got a playoff win for the Cleveland Freaking Browns. I just wonder what kind of word Christian McCaffrey will put in for Baker since they were just teammates with the Panthers a short time ago. To be a fly on the wall for that conversation regarding CMC's endorsement — or lack thereof.