Panthers Mailbag: When are the Panthers going to trade for Baker Mayfield? And more.
Rookie minicamp is over, and Phase 2 of the offseason program is nearing an end.
Soon training camp will be upon us.
This week, the rookies began work with the veterans for voluntary workouts before the season. Brian Burns was back after missing a few days to address a personal matter. Robbie Anderson’s name and number change became official, and more.
For this week’s mailbag, we got a range of questions from quarterback to offensive line and defensive line.
From Ben T.: When are the Panthers going to trade for Baker Mayfield?
The Panthers will continue to monitor Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield’s situation through the summer. Despite reports that Cleveland is comfortable carrying Mayfield into the season, it benefits neither party to drag this out.
Carolina does not want to pay more of Mayfield’s fully-guaranteed $18.9 million fifth-year option than it has to. Cleveland wants Mayfield’s new team to pay the majority of his contract. This game of NFL chicken has been going on since the draft when both sides were in talks until Carolina traded into the third round to select Matt Corral.
A trade could happen after June 1. June 2 remains a significant date on the NFL calendar because of the change in salary cap implications. Only the current year’s bonus counts toward the cap when players are released or traded after June 1. For example, if traded or cut before June 1, Robbie Anderson would cost $19 million in dead money, making him impossible to move. But after June 1, the Panthers only would carry about $9 million in dead one from an Anderson trade.
June 2 is the next potential wave of player movement. If nothing with Mayfield happens that week then expect this to drag into training camp, which does not make much sense. A quarterback coming into a new team would benefit from learning the offense as soon as possible. Ideally, Carolina has a veteran quarterback in place by June 14, the start of mandatory minicamp.
— Ellis L. Williams
@CHARLES_BROCCLi asks: With the improved offensive line, can Sam Darnold improve his game? What are the expectations from him now that the O-line is better?
I don’t think Darnold is a lost cause as a quarterback. I think we saw a player who struggled when he was under pressure, and desperately needed someone other than DJ Moore to step up when Christian McCaffrey was out.
He also needed to hit his targets.
Darnold said it himself. When there’s pressure in his face, his footwork tends to get a little wonky, and he gets antsy in the pocket.
Darnold faced pressure on 177 dropbacks in 2021, according to Pro Football Focus. He threw two touchdowns and seven interceptions when faced with pressure. When he had a clean pocket, he threw seven touchdowns and six interceptions and completed 66 percent of his passes.
But a better offensive line will help with that. He’ll have more time in the pocket for plays to develop and to make smarter decisions.
New offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s offense will look to get the ball out of his hands quicker.
I think Darnold will be better in 2022. My biggest question is will it be good enough to get them to the playoffs, and if so, will he be good enough to compete there? The difference between playoff contenders and playoff pretenders, is often who they have at quarterback.
Franchise quarterbacks can put a team on their back and can help them come from behind. We haven’t seen that yet from Darnold.
I think there are still better options out there for the Panthers. But I do expect him to have a better season with a better O-Line.
— Jonathan M. Alexander
From Justin M.: Are the Panthers going to add any more defensive lineman? I think they need another edge rusher.
Over the weekend, the Miami Dolphins signed edge rusher Melvin Ingram to a one-year, $5 million deal. Ingram would’ve made sense in Carolina but there are still other options as the summer rolls on.
Jadeveon Clowney, Anthony Barr, Justin Houston and Jerry Hughes are all still available. Clowney remains tied to Cleveland. He’ll probably wait until July to make a decision. Barr, Houston, and Hughes are all cost-effective options that would provide much-needed depth behind likely starter Frankie Luvu.
Considering those names, Carolina will likely start an unproven defensive end opposite Pro-Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns. Haason Reddick led the Panthers in sacks and quarterback hits. Replacing him is going to take a team effort whether the Panthers add more depth.
— ELW
@KevinBostic asks: Other than offensive line, where are you thinking the biggest improvement will be? Biggest regression?
I wouldn’t call it a big regression, but the position groups that concern me most are linebacker, because the Panthers aren’t deep there, and edge rusher, because of the production lost.
How the Panthers make up for Haason Reddick’s production at edge rusher will likely be a big question heading into training camp.
Carolina will likely start linebacker Frankie Luvu, who showed promise in limited action in 2021. The Panthers loved what they saw from Luvu on tape and how he was in on every play when he started for Reddick.
Luvu hasn’t been a full-time starter during his career and as a result, hasn’t had more than three sacks in a season in his career.
Reddick was responsible for 11 sacks in 2021, and he helped make it easier at times for Burns to get loose because they couldn’t double team him like they could in 2020.
Luvu, 25, has a lot to prove. And perhaps he can have a breakout year, but for the Panthers to make up for what Reddick provided, players such as Yetur Gross-Matos and Marquis Haynes are also likely going to have to step up.
— JMA
From Trey D.: Is the Panthers’ season over before it even starts? Look at the schedule. Look at their quarterback situation. ESPN power ranked Carolina 32nd in its latest post-draft poll. They are the worst team in the NFL.
This was a surprise. Carolina ranked last in ESPN’s NFL power rankings 2022 offseason 1-32 poll. The Panthers moved down four spots for No. 28 after free agency. It’s unclear how drafting the No. 1 tackle and adding a quarterback dropped them to the bottom.
Teams above Carolina include Atlanta, both New York teams, Jacksonville, Houston, Detroit and Chicago. After the draft, ESPN analyst Todd McShay shared his early predictions for all 32 first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. McShay gave Carolina the No. 6 pick. The Falcons, Jaguars, Lions, Texans, and Jets all are projected to finish with worse records than the Panthers next season.
ESPN’s poll is based on its “power panel “ — a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities — evaluated how teams stack up throughout the season. Unless McCaffrey does not play a game in 2022, Carolina will not finish with the worst record.
The season is not over before it starts. Do not buy into that.
— ELW
Whisper in the Wind asks: Is this team as bad as the national sports media seems to think they are?
I don’t think so. The Panthers were a 5-win team in 2021 in large part because they had a terrible offensive line, their quarterback play was poor and McCaffrey was hurt.
This offseason, the Panthers fixed their offensive line, McCaffrey will likely enter Week 1 healthy and the Panthers at least have a backup plan at quarterback, if Darnold struggles.
They also bolstered their coaching staff with veteran coaches, three of which have experience as a head coach in the NFL.
The Panthers are easily a better team.
What would keep the Panthers from being a fringe playoff team, though, is quarterback play.
The Panthers need an upgrade at quarterback over Darnold, even if it’s a temporary solution (Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo).
If Corral can develop into a good quarterback, perhaps he can be that answer, too.
The only area that the Panthers got weaker was pass rushing after losing Haason Reddick.
— JMA
Tom asks: Who is more likely to start week 1 at left guard? Christensen, Daley, Elflein or someone else?
The left guard competition will be an interesting one to watch at training camp. Carolina will give No. 6 pick Ikem Ekwonu a chance to start at left tackle. If he can handle that then that should push Brady Christensen to left guard.
At rookie minicamp, coach Matt Rhule labeled Ekwonu, Christensen and Daley as left-side players.
One player to keep an eye on is 2021 sixth-round pick Deonte Brown. At 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds, he brings natural size to the position that Christensen and Daley lack. But Christensen should be the favorite to start at left guard this season.
— ELW
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Panthers Mailbag: When are the Panthers going to trade for Baker Mayfield? And more.."
