How Baker Mayfield's 'spark' came back after five games with the Rams: 'It was life-changing'

"After winning the quarterback competition during training camp, he injured his ankle in Week 5 and eventually lost the starting job. During the Panthers' Week 10 bye that season, Mayfield and his wife, Emily, went to Cabo. On their way back, Mayfield talked to his agent, who gave him a heads-up that he was hearing that the quarterback might be a healthy scratch for Carolina's next game."

"That Monday, Mayfield got a text to come to Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks' office, where Mayfield was told he was going to be the team's third-string quarterback that week against the Seattle Seahawks. The other option, he was told, was that he could be released. "It sucked, but it's one of those things that for my career and for the betterment of my future, I had to do it," Mayfield said in 2022 of his choice."

Baker Mayfield won the 2017 Heisman at Oklahoma and was the No. 1 pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. In July 2022, Cleveland traded for Deshaun Watson and Mayfield was dealt to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional fourth-round pick. Mayfield won the Panthers' quarterback competition in training camp, then injured his ankle in Week 5 and lost the starting job. During the Panthers' Week 10 bye, an agent warned Mayfield he might be a healthy scratch. He was later told he would be third-string or released; he chose release and then joined the Los Angeles Rams, where he spent five weeks.

Read at ESPN.com