Rams are ideal place for Baker Mayfield to ‘revive career’ | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

the first decisions he had to make is whether to put in a waiver claim for quarterback. Boom. A look at you hosting and turning the tables here. Hey, who knows? Who knows? For all we know Chris for all, we know what brought it to a head. Was John Robinson pushing to make a waiver claim for Baker. Mayfield and Mike Robinson. Are you freaking crazy? Yeah. Are you crazy? Let’s take this to the Boss. That’s finally, I’m sick of all this s…. Let’s take this to the boss and let’s hash this out once. And for all.

Wouldn’t that be something if that was really the Catalyst for change regardless? They didn’t make a claim for Baker, Mayfield, the Rams, the Rams did that was one of the teams we had flagged. I mean what the hell? Matthew Stafford on injured reserve, John Wolford is injured and not good. All due respect Bryce Perkins is raw, right? We don’t know whether it’s going to be good or not and Thursday Night Football. Against the Raiders Monday night football, against the Packers Christmas day, late afternoon in the Cowboys. Thanksgiving day window against the Broncos, are you kidding?

We’re subjected to that one now. Baker Mayfield. It least we can come up with a plausible reason to be mildly curious

because the Rams have Baker, Mayfield, Chris. I mean, it to me, it was the most obvious choice and the surprise was No one else even bothered to put in a claim? No one else wanted him. That’s what surprised me because I thought four or five teams could could convince themselves. We should spend five weeks with this guy and figure out whether we want to keep next year. Yeah, I hear you Mike. I think it

came down to like, what we talked about though. He’s such a, he’s a name, you know, where media fan base is get around to where I think a lot of teams just didn’t want to deal with you know, that circus or those questions or have that in the locker room or have their young Back have to deal with. Hey wait this is our franchise quarterback, but we got this guy to and now he’s got to hear about that. It just, there was there was limited options. Like, we went over yesterday. I’m still shocked to. That

was only one team, but man. Man, I think this is, this is the spot for Baker. This is a great spot for him. And I think the reason I think that is just one that, you know, I don’t think Baker. Mayfield is going to. I think there’s a real future here. For him with the Rams and and hear me out. No, no. The first thing I would say is I don’t think Baker’s getting signed by anybody. This offseason to be the starting quarterback of the football team, I think that’s gone now, right? So, I think

he’s already being relegated, it would be a special situation, I think, and so forth for that and lack of that special situation. I think he’s relegated to backup. Bill that we’ve talked about a little bit and to me, this is the perfect place to go and kind of Revive your career. You’re with a guy with McVeigh, who people look at is, you know, somewhat of a quarterback Whisperer and it’s a team that’s won and you’re behind. Even if you know, again, backup quarterback, you’re behind Matthew Stafford who gets heard. A lot has been beat up

a lot already in his career. I don’t know if he’s the type of guy that can last and Plato. He’s 40 years old, he’s not a huge human being either and they got a not a great offense in line to where I just look. At this. And this could be a spot where, hey, you’ve next year, if you do get to go in and staffer gets hurt, they’re going to be better, they’re going to your nervous system, a support system. It’s all it could, it could all be positive. Let alone just you being on the

Rams with McVeigh and the you know all hey he does everything right. He’s a great worker and all that stuff starts to filter through the NFL. He brings great energy to the building every day a little bit like we saw with Odell Beckham jr. And all of a sudden everybody’s like hey this guy’s a good Is a good team guy, right? The room said it. The ram said it. He’s a good team guy. And that to me, is where this could be good for Baker. Mayfield. And I think it’s, you know, like you’re saying a

smart move by the Rams as well. Yeah, I don’t know how much stock I’d put in anything. Shawn McVeigh has to say after how things have gone this year but that’s a different point. All together you’re right though, Stafford is a guy that needs a good backup and one of the problems of f them picks. You got less draft picks. You can use taking a flyer on a rookie quarterback. You’ve got less cap space to pay, decent money to a backup seven, eight, nine million dollars per year. You got to rely on these young guys,

on the rookie contracts, where it’s a low cap burden because you’re paying Matthew Stafford. You’re paying jail and Rams. You’re pairing Aaron, Donald you’re paying Cooper Cup right. Hank, Bobby Wagner. You got all this, my we’ve talked about this. Yeah, that’s the big risk of f. Them picks and all that money being paid to small handful of guys. Once those guys, Are getting injured. You are screwed, right? And that’s what they’ve been at the quarterback position. So hey, maybe we need to rethink this, maybe we need to have somebody. Maybe, maybe we need to be

a little more zealous in getting Matthew Stafford. To let us know when he’s having issues. I still think Matthew Stafford gets banged up, goes home shuts. His mouth goes to bed gets out of bed. Comes to work. Doesn’t say boo to anybody care, right? When he’s injured right? He goes as long as he can until Till he can’t go anymore, right? And then they’re screwed and that’s what happened this year, they have to have somebody who’s ready to go. If Matthew Stafford needs to sit for week 5 and, and heal up a little bit, we’re

not stuck with John Walford, all due respect or Bryce Perkins, we got Baker, Mayfield, who can come in and hold together for a week. That’s what they need to do. And you’re right, maybe through this five-week audition, get to know each other. They decide, he’s our guy who could maybe do a one year 7 million dollar contract. Back next year and be the backup and position himself. Right to go be a starter in 2024 because he hasn’t done anything. He made this big bet on himself. Yes. Yep. He gave up 4.6 million dollars in guaranteed

money to go to Carolina and the big bet blew up in his face because he lost that 4.6 million. It’s never coming back and he’s done nothing to position himself, to go. Get paid as a starter like you said. So it’s time to make chicken salad. Yeah. And it starts in Los Angeles. Yeah, that’s right. And and you know I got to just start being a little choosy and you can’t be too greedy you can’t be all I want to be a starter. Okay. Well, you know, you know that that is gone, you know, and

you got to be careful about, you know, putting yourself in a place where oh, yeah, I think I can be the starter really quick. But, yeah. Okay. That, you know, that teams probably crappy and that’s why you might be able to be the starter. And, you know, as we’ve always talked about when you’re around crap and everything, you start to smell like crap and it gets on you a little bit and all the sudden you look crappy to and that’s what happened to him Carolina. I mean, you know, Horrible offense and not, you know, not

great talent there. And I don’t care who you put in a quarterback in Carolina and then get a look that good with, with the support system. So now you got to go to a place where hey, they’ve shown they know how to support the quarterback. No, no. I know this is a rough year but we got to go through the track record of Sean McVeigh and the Rams and you know his in totality is says that they’ll be back next year. You know, even last week it’s still there fighting. Are playing hard as hell. So

I don’t think mcveigh’s lost the locker room. There’s a culture there of winning and competing, and I do think Baker Mayfield can fit that. And you know, yeah, if he gets that opportunity is going to be in a system that’s tried and true and he’s going to have some people around him to, you know, make it work. At least better than it did in Carolina, and we’ll see if he can take advantage of that but opportunity. If he ever gets it it will be interesting to see how it plays out and how quickly he plays

a report yesterday. Today, suggesting that he could play as soon as Thursday night, that’s a tall order. One thing for Christian McCaffrey to come in and know what a running back does in his spot in the San Francisco offense. Chris, it’s quite another. Can you imagine? It’d take me through what the challenges would be Baker, Mayfield gets on a plane, has the Playbook downloaded onto his tablet, spends, the cross-country flight beginning to become acquainted with the offense. Mean, I understand all you have to know is the game plan for Thursday night? Yeah. That’s still not

easy. You’re talking about 48 hours, right? Right. I can’t imagine you’re walking through the door cold, totally cold and he does he’s got you know I think he’s got a little history with this system to a degree. You know, there’s going to be similar rules but the language is going to be different. And yeah, that’s what you’re on the plane. And you start to go, you know. Okay. Wait. There aren’t we? We called this. We called this Double Wing right now. They call it this. And all right. Wait, we used to call slant flat lion

and they call it Bang. : okay. So you’re starting to process that all together that, you know, that’s fine and dandy ensure you’ll get some of the basics down there. But I mean, from the play on Thursday night, to know like oh wait, hey there’s a, there’s a will linebacker, the weakside linebacker and the free safety are going to Blitz. We want to audible out of it. This collect them in. Love that or to talk to the center and be like, hey, hey, we got to change the protection here and protect the guy. That’s where,

you know, I find that almost impossible to think that that could happen. It’s just, it’s just too much. I mean McVeigh. Would have to have the perfect game plan or the most conservative game plan in the history of football, where he’d be like. All right we’re just going to have these three or four runs and a few passes and you just we’re going to block it up and you can throw it down the football field and you’ll know the concepts and will work, you know, work through them over the next few days. But I would

be shocked to see him on Thursday night. I think maybe a chance next week, okay? If Wolverines not ready and everybody, I could see that but I don’t think we’re going to see that against the Raiders here and tomorrow. And they have an extra day to get ready for the next game. They’ve got that extended 11 days between Thursday and Monday, because they play the Packers Monday Night Football, at Lambeau Field and, you know, there’s an element of entertainment value and Showmanship here. One of the points I made yesterday because we went through all the

teams, yeah, at PFT and I had I went as broadly as I could identified 16 teams, it should at least think about it and the Rams were one of them. And one of the reasons is, as I mentioned earlier, next three games, Games Standalone National windows, that can’t be flexed away. The fourth one is a Sunday night game against the Chargers, which I assume the NFL is going to choose because it’s the NFL’s decision to flex out a Sunday night week, 17, Rams at Chargers. No one’s going to want to see that period. And you’ve

got the, the next three games where people need to tune in. I suspect 345 Park. Avenue was happy that Baker, Mayfield end with the Rams because now there’s at least a reason. To tune in and watch some of the game because maybe Baker Mayfield is going to play. Let’s see how he does. Let’s see if they’re any different. Let’s see if they can be a little bit of a spoiler, not that they’re spoiling anything for the Broncos. But ye, then it can spoil something for the Packers. Maybe they can be the team that delivers the

final nail for Green Bay, who knows? Yeah. That’s coming out of a by for Green Bay. So what we’ll see. But at least it adds a little something and the other point to Chris about the fact that no one else made a waivers claim to the extent that there’s any further need For Baker, Mayfield ego to be put in check for Baker. Mayfield to be humbled from that guy. Who was a pain in the ass for the Browns prickly with the media. Remember last year they beat the Lions, he was mad because he got booed,

right? He didn’t meet with reporters, all the locker room stuff, him versus Odell Beckham jr. Who did the players defended and defend him like to the extent that he had to stop being a pain in the butt? When you see the 31th, Teams had a chance to claim you on waivers and only one said, yes. That’s the kind of thing that can maybe send a message if he needed any further messages to be appropriately. Humble about where he is in his career. And where he’s going from here, going forward? That was actually a good thing

for him. They did him a favor and the Rams of favor by having no one else claimed on waivers yesterday. Because if he’s not happy in l.a., it’s not like anybody else is going to want him. No, you’re right. I mean most guys go to La and our B & R, like pretty pleased with that culture, you know, Baker, the three and nine. Yeah, Maria not. It’s you’re right. It’s, it’s it’s a different building in there right now than I was last year. That’s for sure Baker. Yeah, did not always handle himself, right? You’re right,

you know, he did get screwed over by the Cleveland Browns in a epic way, I mean epic and all time you know it deserves the word. Something more aggressive than screw and all-time screw over but I’ll let it be right now. In case my boss is listening. Thank you. All right. Right. But that that has that ever stopped you in the past a little bit. I sometimes get a text during the show like, okay, stop swearing and then I do try to dial it back a little, but and then this year we can say what

you want and he’s been great this year, right? He’s made 00 issues, but a total leader, you know, it’s been a very tough situation. There’s been a lot of issues there and Carolina, Baker Mayfield has never been at the Forefront of any of them. So I think those are all good things and And yes. Yes yesterday you know certainly I would think would pop your eyes open to go. Damn I’m not that hot of a commodity anymore. I’m not and that’s why the Rams again I think is the perfect spot you go there. You’re rebuild

your reputation. No McVeigh and the coaches who leave that building will start to slowly talk about how professional you are and how awesome you are and you’re smart and damn, you could throw the football, you’ll get your chance again and more than likely. It could be next year if you hang around there. So hopefully, He makes a good impression and, you know, I think it’s a perfect spot for him to be a backup and and rebuild this thing. And here’s the other side of it too. I believe he used he and people close to him,

use the media to get his complaints out in Cleveland. Mmm, we saw that time. And again, there hasn’t been a single Sunday Splash report. There hasn’t been anything along the lines of Baker. Mayfield was unhappy, when they traded Christian McCaffrey because he wouldn’t have come to Carolina, if he thought he wouldn’t have McCaffrey available to him all year long, that would have been a very reasonable thing for someone to Art and it would have been a reasonable thing for Mayfield to believe and to the extent that he did believe it, he never said it, he

never leaked it. And that’s a sign of maturity. There was nothing that happened since he was traded to the Panthers either coming out of his mouth or through his demeanor or through any reports from unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation that Mayfield was anything other than perfectly content to be, where he was, and we didn’t even know he wanted out. Until he got out what? And that’s where I want to go with that. A little bit, I do what I would want to ask you because the other thing I thought of, when this kind

of came about, you know, of course we thought oh, maybe he’s doing this because of the 49ers, right? Maybe, but I do wonder if there’s this. Was there an inside deal here to be had with the Rams, you know, with their record. You know, they’re going to be high up on the waiver wire, right? Your it is one of those things where the agent could call those teams that Are in front of the Rams and the waiver wire. Get a feel. Hey, hypothetically, right? Hypothetically. Right Baker, you know, I think we can go in and

Carolina and they’re done with you. You could ask and I think they’ll let you go and we’ll see where it goes. I think I thought maybe then when I first saw that the inside deal was over the 49ers, but maybe we were wrong the inside deal was you know, the Rams and McVeigh and less need work in the back channels here all along. And this is, this is why Baker, you know, ask for his release, he thought there’s a good chance he could end up here. And look the Panthers save 1.3 million dollars in cash

and cap space. What they do sacrifice though is the ability to get a compensatory pick next year. 2024 as Mayfield walks out the door, but remember you only get those if you lose more guys, then you sign if the Panthers are planning on going out and signing a bunch of guys in free agency this year and I think they wanted to get your open to do. So right then you’re not going to get a compensatory pick for Baker Mayfield. So that’s not a reason to hold him. You move off of a guy that you’re done

with you save 1.3 million in cash and cap space and and he gets a chance to do something the next five weeks.

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