4 former Carolina Panthers players looking for revenge in 2023
By Dean Jones
Baker Mayfield - Former Carolina Panthers QB
Matt Rhule's last throw of the quarterback dice saw Baker Mayfield step into the breach despite the Carolina Panthers having Sam Darnold and trading up for Matt Corral. A desperate move in one final hope of turning around the sinking ship he was captaining.
Mayfield adjusted well to difficult circumstances at camp. Unfortunately for the player and the Panthers, this didn't transition to a competitive environment and Rhule paid with his job after another embarrassing loss against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
The former Heisman Trophy winner out of Oklahoma went on injured/reserve and played once more before he was released. This was Mayfield's rock bottom, but he got another chance on the Los Angeles Rams and showed enough to earn a one-year, $8.5 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This lands Mayfield back in the NFC South, which is seemingly wide open after Tom Brady's retirement. He'll be relishing the prospect of getting one over on Carolina twice a season, but the signal-caller is about to find out this isn't the same team in turmoil he joined last summer.
The Panthers are almost unrecognizable in terms of coaching and overall belief about what could be accomplished. And make no mistake, Carolina's defense will be striving to pile more misery on Mayfield during their two encounters next season.