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SAN FRANCISCO – Believe it or not, it wasn’t that long ago that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, the first and third picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, were teammates competing for a starting job with the Carolina Panthers. Less than four years later, all three parties have achieved great success.
Mayfield found himself with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers made the playoffs with Bryce Young and Darnold will play in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
In an interview with Pak Gazette Digital during Super Bowl media week, Mayfield admitted that the whole situation was “interesting.” But as someone who has a similar journey to Darnold, you can’t help but root for him.
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Sam Darnold of the Carolina Panthers and Baker Mayfield warm up before the preseason game between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on August 19, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“I’m very happy for Sam, having similar stories and journeys, very happy for him. He’s fought and come out better on the other side. He’s found a home in Seattle, I hope they do that for his sake,” Mayfield said.
“In Carolina, not every situation is right for that. We were there together, different staff, different GM, all that, and then you hire Dave Canales. I know he’s going to help Bryce Young develop and become a better player. When you have a belief like that and it starts to change the culture after it’s been bad for a few years, that’s the confidence people have, you don’t want to underestimate it.”
That’s exactly what happened to Mayfield, who never found his place with the Cleveland Browns, then went to Carolina before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams to back up Matthew Stafford for less than half a season. He then had to fill some big shoes replacing Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, but everything worked out.
“You just have to be in the right position and understand as a QB what system you want to be in, and you have to be able to be on the same page with everyone,” Mayfield said. “Through all the ups and downs, don’t lose confidence in yourself and understand that as long as you can learn something from every opportunity, good things will happen.”
It’s true that Mayfield is a guy who holds a grudge: He had some things to say about former Panthers head coach Steve Wilks earlier in the season, and he took a shot at new Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski, his first coach in the NFL, last week.
Mayfield took issue with a tweet from an Atlanta-based journalist who wrote about Stefanski’s tenure in Cleveland, specifically the number of quarterbacks he had to work with because none seemed to stick around. The writer said Mayfield “failed” in Cleveland.
“Failed is a great friend,” Mayfield responded in X, referring to a journalist’s note that said Mayfield and Deshaun Watsonwho remains on the Browns roster, failed in Cleveland. “I’m still waiting for a text/call from [Stefanski] After they sent me away like a piece of trash. “I can’t wait to see you twice a year, coach.”
Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 10, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (John McCoy/Getty Images)
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“For me, at any time, whether it’s a good relationship or a bad one, if you’re familiar with the person, you want to win. Because you’ll probably run into them later and you’ll always want to have the last laugh. As a competitor, you never want to lose, but you definitely never want to lose to someone you know very well.”
Mayfield said his teammates warmed up “pretty quickly” after Stefanski signed with the Bucs’ division rival, “but it’s February. We’ve got a long way to go.”
However, no grudge can ever be held against Mayfield’s childhood favorite, Sonic. Mayfield recently partnered with the fast food brand in what is a full circle deal.
“Growing up in Texas, Sonic has been great for me. It’s where we used to hang out when you were younger, with nothing else to do, go to a side parking lot and just hang out. And play college football in Oklahoma, and the headquarters is in Oklahoma City, so it’s one of those things and connections everywhere,” Mayfield said. “To be honest with you, the Sonic Smasher is hard to beat. I don’t really have to sell it. People try it and it speaks for itself.
“I can go back to elementary school, my dad would come in and surprise me, drop Sonic off for lunch. It was the best day in the world. All the kids looked at me so jealous.”
This was the first season since before Brady that the Bucs missed the playoffs. It came down to watching the Falcons and New Orleans Saints to see if the Bucs or Mayfield’s former Panthers would win the division. When the Panthers won, the season became “really disappointing.”
“You’re supporting a team, but you have no control over a match, I can’t do it full time. It’s hard to do,” he said.
But with a healthy offensive line, another year of Emeka Egbuka and a full season of Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving, Mayfield is sounding the warning.
Baker Mayfield (6) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs off the field after the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans on Monday, September 15, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
“It starts from the front. This is not a pity party or an excuse, but we never had, on paper, our certified offensive linemen. They didn’t even take a game together. So that’s tough. In the NFL, it starts and ends with the big guys up front, whether it’s offensive line, defensive line, the game is always won in the trenches. Those guys set the tone for the entire game, for the team. So when you don’t have your five studs playing together consistently, those guys They get into a rhythm together and can change the course of the season,” Mayfield said.
“Hopefully having those guys back and being healthy will be a big difference for us. And for me, continuing to develop our young receivers and being on the same page with whoever we have.
