Baker Mayfield’s Panthers Debut Was Met With A Two-word Response From Odell Beckham
Baker Mayfield is being cheered on from a distance by Odell Beckham Jr.
The free-agent wide receiver showed his support for his former Browns quarterback, Baker Mayfield, when he made his debut for the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, roughly nine months after he went through his own messy divorce from Cleveland.
According to Beckham’s comments on the NFL’s official page, he was responding to an Instagram post that featured Mayfield in his Panthers uniform. He said: “Go shine!!!!!!!! ”
In the 23-21 win over Washington on Saturday, Mayfield, who was traded to Carolina earlier this summer, completed four of seven attempts for 45 yards and zero touchdowns.
Mayfield’s competition, former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rashard Higgins during the game.
Coach Matt Rhule said after the game that both signal-callers played well during the game.
Baker Mayfield’s Panthers Debut Was Met With A Two-word Response From Odell Beckham
It was obvious that Sam got us in the end zone, and Baker got us down the field,” Rhule said. “It looked like both guys played well in the game.”.
It is expected that the Panthers’ quarterback competition will continue this weekend when they travel to New England to play the Patriots on Friday night.
For Beckham, 29, and Mayfield, 27, who spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Cleveland Browns together, there has been a lot of change in the past year.
While the Browns did go on a playoff run in 2020, the team faltered the following year due to rumors of discord between Beckham and Mayfield that began to surface at the end of the season.
In November of last year, Beckham was released by the Browns and signed with the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams, who went on to win the championship.
During the days that led up to Beckham’s departure from the team, his father seemed to blame Mayfield for his son’s lackluster season in the days leading up to his departure.
The former first-round pick, Beckham Sr., shared an 11-minute video on Instagram in which he documented the number of times that the former first-round pick was not thrown the ball during a game.
I wish him all the best, I really do. After Beckham’s release, Mayfield said, “I still have the same feelings about him that I had before.”. “From a personal standpoint, he is one of my best friends.”. The last thing I am concerned about is the guys in our locker room.
Despite all the bullish–t that was going on this week, there was no stopping these guys, they were able to keep their heads up and carry on with their job despite everything that was going on.
I am proud of them. It will be interesting to see if we can build on it and continue to improve.
Mayfield, who was hampered by injuries throughout his 2021 season, went on to have his own contentious exit from Cleveland when the organization traded for his replacement in March of the following year, then-Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, as his replacement. As a result of that trade, Mayfield was dealt to the Panthers in July – four months after he had requested a trade from the Browns.
As a result of sexual misconduct allegations against Watson, he is currently facing a six-game ban, which the NFL is seeking to extend for the entire season.