Baker Mayfield seen in walking boot following loss to 49ers

Things seem to be getting even worse for the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback situation. Not only has their starting signal-caller, Baker Mayfield, been playing poorly. He also was seen in a walking boot following the team’s 37-15 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Mayfield had a walking boot on his left ankle, according to a picture posted by David Newton of ESPN.

Here is the picture below.

Baker Mayfleld has a walking boot on his left ankle. https://t.co/UvOG50uhRp

— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 9, 2022

Mayfield was brought to Carolina in the offseason to upgrade the Panthers’ quarterback situation, but he hasn’t performed very well at all. So far this season, he’s completed 54.7 percent of his passes for 747 yards, while tossing in four touchdowns and three interceptions. Mayfield threw a costly pick six against the 49ers on Sunday in which he double clutched during his throwing motion.

He wound up to pass, stopped his throwing motion, then released the football on the second try, and it found the awaiting arms of San Francisco defensive back Emmanuel Moseley. He then returned it 41-yards for a touchdown, putting the 49ers up 17-3 in the first half. It was the first pick-six of his NFL career. Following the game, it was reported by Nick Wagoner that the 49ers fear he tore his left ACL on Sunday. Further tests in the next 24 hours will be needed to confirm that information.

The Panthers don’t currently have any good backup options on their roster to replace Mayfield. Sam Darnold is there, but Mayfield was brought in to replace Darnold due to his mediocre play. Even if the Panthers wanted to play Darnold, they couldn’t, because he is “not close” to returning from a preseason high ankle injury, according to a recent report from Adam Schefter on Oct. 3rd. So, clearly, Carolina has a huge quarterback problem on their hands, and we’ll have to see how they handle it.

The Panthers offensive line could find no answer for the 49ers dominant front seven, which racked up six sacks. It’s one of the best units in the league and they certainly played like it. Coming into Sunday’s game, the San Francisco defense ranked tied for 5th in the league in sacks–with 15. They also ranked first in yards allowed (230.4 yards per game) and by a pretty significant margin. The 49ers had six sacks on Sunday against the Panthers, even with star defensive end Nick Bosa missing the second half with tightness in his groin, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.