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As two quarterbacks who have enjoyed parallel roundabout paths to their current NFL success, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold will square off Sunday in Seattle as friends by commiseration.
Both are former high draft picks who didn’t work out with their original franchise and bounced around before finding their current homes, and just as interestingly, their backgrounds overlapped directly with the Carolina Panthers in 2022.
So, Mayfield was asked Wednesday, will they take a minute Sunday to reminisce about the “good old days” in Carolina?
“Reminisce about what days?” Mayfield replied. “Oh, nope. No, we don’t.”
Carolina was a low point for Mayfield, going 1-5 as a starter and getting benched before ultimately requesting his release to sign in December with the Rams. Darnold went 4-2, but would have another year as a backup with the 49ers before his career turned around. Their shared history was something that bonded them that season, not knowing the resurgences they would later enjoy.
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“That year in Carolina that we spent together, that was a special year, just being able to spend it with ‘Bake’ and that entire quarterback room,” Darnold said. “It was fun to be able to get to know him and (wife) Emily and his entire family.”
Darnold remembers that year more fondly than Mayfield, but the quarterbacks have much in common, before and after their time with the Panthers. Mayfield went to the Browns with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, while Darnold went third overall to the Jets.
Mayfield got the Browns a rare playoff win but still was discarded as they gave Deshaun Watson a $230 million fully guaranteed contract, traded to Carolina. Darnold, having gone 13-25 in three years with the Jets, had been dealt to the Panthers a year earlier.
Seeing those two quarterbacks in spring 2023 and the lukewarm market for them as free agents, you’d have no idea of the stardom they would find again in the last two years. Mayfield, taking over for Tom Brady in Tampa, has led the Bucs to back-to-back division titles, making the Pro Bowl both seasons and last year throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. Darnold, even more surprisingly, had a breakout year with the Vikings last season, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns and going 14-3 as a starter.
Both Baker Mayfield (far left) and Sam Darnold (center) were Pro Bowl quarterbacks last season. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) <!–>
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Even the jackpot contracts they signed with their current teams are nearly identical. Mayfield got three years and $100 million to re-sign with the Bucs in spring 2024, and Darnold hit free agency and landed with the Seahawks, getting three years and $100.5 million.
“I think both of them have grown,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday. “They came out in the same draft class, two picks apart, one at 1, one at 3. To have some success, a little bit of success early, then go through the teams they both went through, there (are) some similarities there. I think Sam has had success where he’s been. Baker has definitely had success here. So, from that standpoint, you can see it, yes.”
Both have their teams off to solid 3-1 starts — Mayfield has eight touchdowns against one interception, Darnold five scores and two picks — and now they go head-to-head It’s fitting that these two battle in a game where both teams proudly sport throwback jerseys, embracing their not-so-successful starts as NFL franchises together in 1976.
It’s not the first time — Mayfield’s NFL debut came against Darnold and the Jets (and Bowles) in 2018, and he came off the bench to rally the Browns to a 21-17 victory. Darnold got his revenge with two touchdowns in a 2020 Jets win over the Browns.
“Sam and I are really close,” Mayfield said. “I’m happy for him, from going a couple different places that weren’t great for us, to having a good opportunity elsewhere, it’s fun to see. I knew he just needed that chance, and he’s thriving now. It’s good to see, but hopefully not this weekend.”
Baker Mayfield (left) and Sam Darnold became close friends during their time in Carolina together. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) <!–>
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Darnold said he and Mayfield had conversations with the Panthers about how similar their career arcs had been, the highs and lows that got them to where they were together. Asked Thursday what quality of Mayfield’s he admires most, Darnold smiled.
“His resilience is the biggest piece,” he said. “Obviously, he’s got all the talent in the world, the intangibles you need as a quarterback, but he’s resilient and a good dude.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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