Baker Mayfield slightly off in first practice with Carolina

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had his first practice with the Carolina Panthers and was understandably rusty

It felt weird to see, but Baker Mayfield had his first camp as a quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday. As should have been expected, he wasn’t exactly sharp, but that’s surely because he’s not only in a new system, but it was also his first practice since having shoulder surgery in January.

Mayfield, the former No. 1 overall pick spent his first four seasons with the Cleveland Browns, before being traded to the Panthers ahead of camp. He now finds himself in a competition with Sam Darnold, who was the No. 3 pick in the same draft.

Baker Mayfield speaks after first practice with Carolina

After the game, Mayfield spoke about his performance, saying he wasn’t really happy with his accuracy. He did say that the goal is to get better every day and praised the way Darnold — and rookie Matt Corral — go about their business, saying all will have a part to play this season.

In addition to saying he wasn’t happy about the accuracy, Mayfield also said he got greedy at one point — likely referring to when he had a deep ball picked off. Still speaking on that play, he said there are times to take a shot but he needs to protect the ball and not be “stupid” with it.

That wasn’t the only time the fifth-year quarterback used the word stupid, although the other occurrence had to do with his clothing. Used to the weather in Northern Ohio, Mayfield appeared at camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina wearing long sleeves and pants.

He was critical of himself for that, calling it a stupid decision — something he will surely correct going forward.

Cleveland and Carolina are set to meet in Week 1 in Charlotte, so keeping up with the progress No. 6 is making in his new home isn’t a bad idea.