SAN FRANCISCO - Believe it or not, it was not that long ago that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, the first and third picks of the 2018 NFL Draft, were teammates competing for a starting job with the Carolina Panthers. Less than four years later, all three parties have found major success.
Mayfield figured himself out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers made the playoffs with Bryce Young, and Darnold will be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
In a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital during Super Bowl media week, Mayfield admitted that the entire situation was "interesting." But as someone who has a similar journey to Darnold, he can't help but root for him.
"I'm so happy for Sam, having similar stories and journeys, really happy for him. He's fought through and come out better on the other side. He's found a home in Seattle, hopefully they get it done for his sake," Mayfield said.
"In Carolina, not every situation is right for it. We were there together, different staff, different GM, all that, then you hire Dave Canales. I know he's going to help Bryce Young develop and make him become a better player. When you have belief like that and it starts to change the culture after it's been bad for a few years, that's the confidence that people - you don't want to underestimate that."
That's exactly what happened to Mayfield, who never quite found his footing with the Cleveland Browns, then went to Carolina before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams to back up Matthew Stafford for less than half a season. Then he had big shoes to fill by replacing Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, but it's all worked out.
"It just takes being in the right fit and understanding as a QB what system you want to be in, and you have to be able to be on the same page with everybody," Mayfield said. "Through all the ups and downs, don't lose your self-confidence, and understanding that as long as I can learn something from each opportunity, good things will happen."
Mayfield admittedly is a guy who holds grudges -- he had some things to say about former Panthers head coach Steve Wilks earlier in the season, and he took a shot at new Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski, his first NFL coach, last week.
Mayfield took exception to a tweet from an Atlanta-based journalist who wrote about Stefanski's tenure in Cleveland, specifically the number of quarterbacks he had to work with because none seemed to stick. The writer said Mayfield "failed" in Cleveland.
"Failed is quite the reach pal," Mayfield responded on X, referencing a note from the reporter who said Mayfield and Deshaun Watson, who remains on the Browns' roster, failed in Cleveland. "Still waiting on a text/call from [Stefanski] after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can't wait to see you twice a year, Coach."
"For me, anytime, whether it's a good relationship or bad relationship, if you're familiar with the person, you want to win. Because you're probably gonna run into them later on down the road, and you want to have the last laugh always. As a competitor, you never want to lose, but you definitely never want to lose to somebody that you know really well."
Mayfield said teammates reached out "pretty quick" after Stefanski signed with the Bucs' division rival, "but it's February. We got a long way to go."
No grudge can ever be held against Mayfield's childhood favorite, Sonic, however. Mayfield recently partnered with the fast-food brand in what is a full-circle deal.
"Growing up in Texas, Sonic's been fantastic for me. It's where we used to hang out when you're younger, nothing else to do, go to a side parking lot and just hang out. And playing college football in Oklahoma, and the headquarters are in Oklahoma City, so it's one of those things and connections everywhere," Mayfield said. "Big burger guy, so the Sonic Smasher，it’s hard to beat，to be honest with you。我不需要真的去推销它。人们尝试它，它会为自己发声。
“我可以追溯到小学，我爸爸会进来给我惊喜，送我午餐。那是世界上最美好的一天。每个孩子都很嫉妒我。”
这是自布雷迪之前以来，海盗队首次错过季后赛。最终，海盗队和梅菲尔德之前的黑豹队争夺分区冠军时，海盗队的命运取决于猎鹰队和新奥尔良圣徒队的表现。当黑豹队获胜时，赛季变得“非常失望”。
“你在为一支球队加油，但你对比赛没有控制权，我无法全职这样做。这很难，”他说。
但随着健康的进攻线、埃梅卡·埃布卡（Emeka Egbuka）又一个赛季的表现以及克里斯·戈德温（Chris Godwin）和巴基·欧文（Bucky Irving）全赛季的出场，梅菲尔德发出了警告。
“一切都始于前线。这不是一个怜悯派对或借口，但我们从未拥有过纸面上的认证进攻线员。他们甚至没有一起打过一场比赛。所以这很困难。NFL，始于前线，终于前线，无论是进攻线，还是防守线，比赛总是在 trenches 中赢得。这些家伙为整场比赛、整个球队定下了基调。所以当你没有五个明星球员持续一起打球时，这些家伙会磨合在一起，他们可以改变赛季的进程，”梅菲尔德说。
“希望这些家伙能回来并保持健康对我们来说会是一个很大的不同。而对我来说，就是继续培养我们的年轻接收手，并与我们拥有的任何人达成共识。”