Panthers know all about Baker Mayfield's competitiveness — and ability

Dec 19, 2025 at 09:58 AM

Darin Gantt

Luke Kuechly, Baker Mayfield, Jake Delhomme

CHARLOTTE — The handful of Panthers who remember Baker Mayfield as a teammate can easily recall stories of his competitiveness, whether it was coming into a new place late and trying to make it his own, playing through pain, or the helmet-less headbutts.

The ones who coached against him remember his relentlessness to make a play.

And the ones who coached him recall his willingness to put himself in danger if that's what it took.

The former Panthers quarterback hasn't lost to his old team since leaving midway through the 2022 season, winning all four matchups since then. And with two more in the final three weeks, they'll get a close look at him again.

And they know what they're getting.

Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, who coached receivers at Tampa Bay in 2023, remembers a specific end-around play call against the 49ers, when Mayfield was explicitly instructed to not engage any defensive players he encountered, for safety reasons.

Related Links

"We told him to get out of the way, don't block anyone, we knew he was going to want to," Idzik laughed. " So Baker didn't listen, he captured Nick Bosa and just captured the edge and allowed the receiver to get out and around.

"I couldn't help it, but I'm on the sideline flexing and he's looking over me flexing too. Like, it's just the intensity that you're kind of tongue in cheek saying, hey, we'd love to protect you and get you out of harm's way, but he's a competitor and, you see a lot of that."

When asked if he dinged Mayfield on that play when they reviewed tape the following day, Idzik laughed again.

"I gave him a plus as a receivers coach," he said. "I'm sure the quarterback coach gave him a minus."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales hug after an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla.

As the guy calling his plays in Tampa Bay that year, Panthers head coach Dave Canales realized the lengths Mayfield would go to as well, and what he was capable of.

"Baker has done an amazing job with just orchestrating the whole thing, distributing," Canales said. "And then also you've just got to factor in the part that he's going to try to win the down, whether it's with his legs, whether it's with his brain, or his arm."

In four games against the Panthers the last two seasons, Mayfield has thrown for 933 yards, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

In seven games as a Panther in 2022, he threw for 1,313 yards, with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He only won one start during his time here, but upon leaving, things got better quickly.

Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero saw it first-hand. He was with the Broncos in 2022, when Mayfield latched on with the Rams and dropped 51 on Denver on Christmas — "not a fond memory," Evero said.

"The challenge is, he's one of the great competitors in this league for certain, and so he's going to fight, he's going to will, his teammates are going to follow him because of just the competitive nature that he displays," Evero said. "I think the biggest thing when he took a look at his skill set, he's got a big arm, so he can make all the throws, and his ability to keep plays alive, scrambling, running through tackles, so those are the tough challenges that we're going to have on Sunday."

Quarterback Bryce Young declared his respect for his fellow Heisman winner, saying they've had the opportunity to talk in non-divisional game settings, and he called Mayfield to pick his brain about Canales prior to his arrival in 2024.

But he also got the word-of-mouth reports about Mayfield from those who knew him here before Young's arrival the following year.

"They've all raved about his character, how he was, in the building," Young said. "He was always bringing his best, always had a lot of great energy and charisma, which isn't surprising at all to hear."

Cornerback Jaycee Horn, who is never bashful about engaging with anyone, recalled the "friendly trash talk" when they were teammates in 2022.

"He liked to talk a lot of trash," Horn said. "It's going to be fun matching up against him.

"He's a pretty good trash talker. He's pretty good. He'll shock you with some of the stuff you say."

But more important to them now, is the fact that they're going to see him twice in the next three weeks, with their seasons on the line.

For those who were here in 2022, the irony of these last three games — with Sam Darnold and the Seahawks sandwiched between the Mayfield games — is not lost on them.

"I don't think anyone can draw it up like that," offensive lineman Austin Corbett said. "I mean, that's why I wanted to come here, I knew if we could get the people, we could make that push.

"But I definitely wasn't anticipating Baker and Sam to be there and part of it on the other side of the ball."