When the Carolina Panthers finally took the plunge on former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, it was discovered that a number of people in the Panthers organization had spoken pretty poorly about Mayfield, including wide receiver Robbie Anderson.
He has since said that he has no issues with Mayfield, but his comments on Tuesday about the former first-overall pick indicate that Anderson may actually be alright with Mayfield potentially being the starting quarterback for the Panthers moving forward.
“He’s smart,” said Anderson about Mayfield via Panthers Wire. “He’s picked up the offense, like, rapidly. I like his energy a lot. I like that a lot about him. Like his leadership. And his confidence.”
Anderson also added that he really appreciates Mayfield’s willingness to throw the football downfield, which is something that he could certainly benefit from alongside star receiver DJ Moore next season.
The initial reason for Anderson’s negative comments on Mayfield was that he wanted to support Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback, which makes sense considering his relationship with Darnold dates back to their time together on the New York Jets.
It seems like Mayfield and Darnold are in the midst of a true quarterback battle this preseason, with head coach Matt Rhule not revealing a favorite to win the starting job at this point.
Mayfield winning over the favor of the locker room is the first step in him emerging as the favorite to win the starting quarterback position, and it looks like he may be starting to do that moving forward.
