Cleveland Browns trade Baker Mayfield to Carolina Panthers for 2024 conditional draft pick

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns agreed to trade quarterback Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday in exchange for a 2024 conditional draft pick.

The Panthers will pay $4.85 million of Mayfield's salary while the Browns will pay $10.5 million, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Mayfield agreed to convert the remainder of his $18.8 million salary into incentives to facilitate the deal, which is pending a physical. Mayfield can earn back that money based on team performance, a source said.

The Browns will receive either a fourth- or fifth-round pick in 2024, depending on Mayfield's playing time in Carolina, a source told ESPN.

Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, joins a Panthers team that already has Sam Darnold, the No. 3 overall selection in 2018, on its quarterback depth chart. The Panthers also selected Matt Corral in the third round of this year's draft.

Now Mayfield and Darnold, who competed with each other to become the No. 1 pick in 2018, will compete again in training camp to vie for the right to be the Panthers' starter this season, a league source told Schefter.

New teammates Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have thrown the first- and second-most interceptions in the NFL, respectively, since they entered the league in the 2018 season.

If Mayfield wins the job his first starting assignment will be against the Browns, who are scheduled to visit Carolina in Week 1. The Browns are currently 1-point favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.

«We want to thank Baker for all his contributions to the Cleveland Browns,» owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. «From the moment he was drafted, he gave his all for this organization and this city. With his fierce competitive spirit, he excited