-Ed-Mulholland-USA-TODAY-Sports-30
Sports Illustrated’s Alber Breer reported earlier Monday that Baker Mayfield is getting a lot of interest from the New Orleans Saints.
Apparently, he always has.
Though New Orleans is set to pursue Derek Carr first during free agency, Breer says Baker is shaping up to be their backup plan. Here’s what he had to say:
“The Saints staff was high on Mayfield ahead of the 2018 draft, and those old draft evals can definitely have an impact down the road with guys as they get older and hit free agency, especially when there’s a need that can be tied to it.”
Baker is only 28, but his career has been a journey of highs and lows. The former #1 pick has a 29-30 record as a starter, though he did engineer the Browns returning to the playoffs on the back of his 26-TD 8-INT 2020 season. Injuries followed, and once he was sent to the Carolina Panthers it was only a matter of time–6 games–before he was released. He then made his way to the defending champion LA Rams, where he ended the season with some pride, starting four games and throwing for 4 TDs.
The current buzz around the NFL is that teams are viewing Mayfield as a higher upside option than free agent Jimmy Garoppolo after generating success with the Rams.
With Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton definitely leaving the team, Mayfield could be the next QB to try and fill the Drew Brees void if Derek Carr doesn’t pan out.
