Baker Mayfield in August 2021. Aug 29, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) is shown on the sideline during their game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Baker Mayfield finally has a new team as the Cleveland Browns traded the former No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in return for a conditional fifth-round pick on Wednesday.

It’s a change of scenery for Mayfield, who spent his first four seasons with the Browns, and a new face under center for Carolina, who went just 5-12 last season. But that doesn’t necessarily mean everybody within the Panthers organization is excited or optimistic about their new quarterback.

Current Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo offered some blunt and unflattering comments about Mayfield following the 2018 NFL Draft, where Mayfield was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Browns.

McAdoo told the New York Post that he liked Mayfield’s personality, but wasn’t too excited about what he actually saw from him on the field.

“He’s got an edge to him, I like that. He’s gonna lead, they’re gonna follow him,’’ McAdoo said of Mayfield in 2018. “I didn’t see a lot of pro-style football in his college tape. And if you’re short you have to be able to make up for it some way, somehow, and personality doesn’t do that. I didn’t think he was a great athlete. This guy is kinda like a pocket quarterback that is short and with small hands, that’s what I worry about.’’

However, it wasn’t just Mayfield. McAdoo wasn’t too fond of the player who is currently his other option at quarterback, either. He offered a similarly critical review of current Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold, who started 11 games for Carolina and will compete with Mayfield for the starting job this fall.

“I’d just have a hard time drafting a guy in the first round where you don’t necessarily like the way he throws,” McAdoo said of Darnold. “He can overcome it, guys have, but that’s something that’s a challenge for me. I’m gonna be looking at that, trying to fix it, because it’s a fundamental flaw, and I believe in the fundamentals. The quarterback, his No. 1 job is to pass the football. If I don’t like the way he throws the ball, I have a hard time picking him, right?’’

Unfortunately for McAdoo, one of those two quarterbacks will be leading his offense this fall.

[New York Post]