"I wore my heart on my sleeve" - Panthers QB Baker Mayfield pays tribute to Browns fan in touching fashion

The trade to the Carolina Panthers has officially gone through and Baker Mayfield is excited to get to work in Charlotte, NC. Mayfield has finally gotten his long-awaited departure from the Cleveland Browns.

Despite Mayfield's request to leave Cleveland and the fractured relationship he had with the front office, he has no ill will towards Browns fans.

In the introductory press conference with Carolina, Mayfield praised the Cleveland fanbase and said:

"Yeah, I mean, the fans in Cleveland are what makes that town so great. It's a special sports town. They care about their Browns tradition, rich and generations of families that have been Browns fans for life."

He went on to say that the fans knew he wore his heart on his sleeve and didn't hold back.

"So that's a medicine special. And I think you know I wore my heart on my sleeve. It's, I've always done it, give everything I have as a blue collar town and embrace those four years."

Baker Mayfield is looking forward to playing in front of the Panthers' fans

Mayfield also said that he feels that the fans in North and South Carolina represent a strong fanbase to be a part of.

"When it comes to moving to Carolina, it's, you know, football's a southern sport. And so we're there in the Carolinas representing those states and ready to represent, going to see what the fanbase is all about. Excited about it."

Mayfield will presumably make his Carolina debut in week one against Cleveland in Charlotte.

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Why the Panthers desperately needed Baker Mayfield

The Panthers were linked to every available quarterback this offseason. They had been since midway through last season when the Sam Darnold experiment began to go off the rails.

They tried signing back Cam Newton, though that ultimately didn't work either. This offseason, when the seat was presumably warming beneath third-year coach Matt Rhule, Carolina needed a quarterback more than ever.

However, it was not a banner year for the quarterbacks in the draft. Carolina picked sixth, but none of the available quarterbacks were considered top-end prospects.

They shored up the offensive line with that pick, but still needed a quarterback. When Baker Mayfield became available, the deal was almost a no-brainer. The only issue was money.

Carolina didn't have a lot of cap space, so much of the deliberation between the Browns and the Panthers was probably about that.

The Browns ended up paying most of Mayfield's salary and the Panthers got their starting quarterback (at least for this year) for an extremely low amount, as per industry standards. They're paying him about $5 million and only traded a conditional future fifth-round pick.