Baker Mayfield is not Going to Fix the Rams

Before the NFL season started I put the Los Angeles Rams at the top of my rankings. I figured they would be primed to make a run for a repeat. They were coming off a Super Bowl win, they had pretty much everyone back and the coach decided to stick around after flirting with retirement.

Well, things have not gone as planned. The Rams have had a bad season. As of today the Rams are 3-9. They are in last place in the NFC West. They have the second worst record in the NFC, behind only the Bears who sit at 3-10. The only team with a worse record is the Texans, at 1-10-1. The Rams are down.

The bad season isn't all due to the returning players. This team has been injured a ton this year. Cam Akers wanted to be traded, sat out a game and is still around somehow. Jalen Ramsey has not been as dominant. Aaron Donald has been on and off the injured list all season. They miss Von Miller. Cooper Kuup is hurt and regressing. The tight ends have not been there all season. The team is a mess.

Yet the biggest mess is at QB. Matthew Sarfford has taken a tremendous step back and is now hurt. Bryce Perkins has had some run at the position, but he isn't ready yet. John Wolford is trash and he is also hurt. It has gotten so bad that the Rams went out and claimed Baker Mayfield.

I have never been a fan of Mayfield's. I thought the Browns totally reached when they took him first overall in his draft. I was never sold on him in college. He was too small and did not really perform as a superstar in big games. He didn't have that it factor in college that some other star college players do. I know he won the Heisman, but the Heisman is a flawed trophy. I think we all know that. And Mayfield was never the answer with the Browns. Sure they went to the playoffs a few times, but they always came up short. The team tried to build around him, get players that fit his style, but Mayfield never changed his game. He wanted everyone to conform to his style in Cleveland. He thought he was a star because he had a ton of commercials during NFL Sunday's. His head got a bit too big. He even resorted to calling out other teammates and the front office. Again, it was never his fault, it was always someone else.

It got bad enough that the Browns traded him last offseason. They decided to go with Deshaun Watson, who brought a whole new set of problems to the franchise, and Jacoby Brissett. The trade of Mayfield to the Panthers did not garner the return you would think when trading a "star" player. The Panthers got Mayfield and all they had to give up was a 2024 conditional draft pick. The Browns were so eager to rid themselves of Mayfield that they traded him and still owed him 10.5 million dollars.

Mayfield wasn't long for Carolina either. He was not named the starter right away. Instead, Matt Rhule, who was horrendous as the head coach, had Mayfield and Sam Darnold fight it out. And Darnold won. Then he played poorly and they put Mayfield in. He wasn't any better. Mayfield looked slower, was not reading defenses, seemed a little frightened and got benched again. The Panthers just cut him a week ago. They just wanted him out. They did not want him anywhere near the team. He was put on waivers and the only team to put in a claim was the Rams.

That is how rough it is at the QB position for the Rams. They were the single team that claimed him, and now he will probably start in the Thursday night game. And I am sure the Rams will get housed by the Raiders.

Baker Mayfield is not the QB that many "draft experts" claimed he was going to be. He is not a team builder. He is not a team player. He only cares about himself and his endorsements. I would not be surprised at all if he is cut again before this season even ends. At this point, if I were the Rams front office and coaches, I would go with Bryce Perkins for the rest of the season. Try to see what they have in him. This team is not going to repeat. They are not going to even make the playoffs. Taking a chance on Baker Mayfield seems ill advised. Just a thought. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.