With Matthew Stafford likely out for the remainder of the 2022 season due to a spinal cord contusion, the Los Angeles Rams claimed former No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield off waivers from the Carolina Panthers.
Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy as a senior with Oklahoma and was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The 27-year-old was mostly inconsistent in four seasons with the franchise before being traded to the Panthers this past July.
Mayfield won the starting quarterback job in training camp but eventually lost it after continuing to play poorly. In seven games, Mayfield completed 57.8% of his passes for 1,313 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions.
However, there is still time for him to turn around his career and it could start as soon as Thursday night. Despite only being a member of the Rams for a couple of days, Mayfield has a shot to play in Week 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football.
It will come down to the health of John Wolford, who has been dealing with a neck issue. But according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Mayfield will play if Wolford is unable to go:
Source: Rams want to go through pregame warmups tonight and see how John Wolford – who is listed as questionable with a neck injury – is doing before deciding who will start at QB. If Wolford is not healthy enough to play, Baker Mayfield would be in line to start vs. the Raiders. pic.twitter.com/p1rK5kvEnq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 8, 2022
Mayfield has only been with the Rams for a day, which is not a lot of time to learn the playbook. With the team sitting at 3-9 though, there isn’t a whole lot to play for at this point so might as well see what Mayfield has got.
Both Wolford and Bryce Perkins have struggled in recent weeks, so maybe a fresh face under center will inject some life in this team to finish out the season.
