Just days after being claimed by the Rams off of waivers, Baker Mayfield came off the bench for the team’s second drive of Thursday night’s game against the Raiders, and ultimately led the team on a feverish fourth quarter comeback win, 17–16.
With Matthew Stafford on injured reserve, we’ve likely seen the last of last year’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback in 2022–23. Backup John Wolford has been dealing with a neck injury, and was pulled early on Thursday, opening the door for Mayfield. Now, the former No. 1 pick is set to use the final month of the season as an audition for the next step in his NFL career.
Per Associated Press writer Greg Beacham, Sean McVay says he expects Mayfield to hold onto the starting job to finish the season.
He’s set to lead the team at the Packers next Monday, followed by a Christmas home game against the Broncos, and trips to the Chargers and Seahawks to finish the season.
Mayfield, who has appeared in eight games this year, was largely disappointing for the Panthers after they acquired him via trade in the offseason. He went 1–5 as starter, completing just 58.5% of his passes for 1,543 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions on the season as a whole.
After going No. 1 in the 2018 NFL draft, Mayfield started 59 games for the Browns from his rookie season through ’21, going 29–30 but leading the team to an 11–5 record in ’20, with a trip to the playoffs. He called for a trade as the Browns moved to trade for Deshaun Watson, despite that quarterback’s looming 11 game suspension due to more than two dozen lawsuits detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment and sexual assault. He ultimately got his wish to and was sent to the Panthers. Now, after being waived by Carolina, he looks to impress in Los Angeles and prove that he’s an NFL starter.
