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Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were teammates with the Carolina Panthers in 2022. They’ll meet when the Seahawks host the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have a lot in common.

Each was a highly touted, top-five pick from the 2018 NFL Draft. Each has found success after leaving his first stop in the NFL.

Plus, each spent one miserable year together as quarterback of the Carolina Panthers.

Yet, when asked if the third-overall pick of the 2018 draft has a good relationship with the top pick of that year’s draft, Darnold said he looks back fondly of the memories they made together in Carolina in 2022.

Mayfield was chosen by the Cleveland Browns and selected just two picks before the New York Jets chose Darnold — with Saquon Barkley landing to the New York Giants in between.

He has since become the franchise quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will take on Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks this weekend.

2022 Was ‘A Special Year’ For Sam Darnold

Darnold and Mayfield were the first two QBs chosen, out of USC and Oklahoma respectively, and each fizzled — despite the fact Mayfield won the Browns’ first and only playoff game since they re-entered the NFL against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2020 Wild Card Round.

So when asked about his memories of Mayfield dating back to when each entered the NFL, Darnold cited the year where he backed up Mayfield the first six games before starting six games after Mayfield was released.

“I think that year [2022] in Carolina that we spent together, that was a special year,” Darnold said. “I think being able to spend it with [Mayfield] and that entire quarterback room that we had, it was fun to be able to get to know him and [Mayfield’s wife] Emily and his entire family.”

Each quarterback was at a crossroads in his career, and each has since persevered to finding his home. Mayfield is in the second season of a three-year, $100 million contract with the Buccaneers, which also carries an option for 2027.

Darnold, of course, signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks this off-season. He referenced the conversations he and Mayfield had in 2022 where they commiserated about their struggles and pumped up each other to keep going.

“We had conversations every now and then about the places that we were and the things that had happened and similarities between us, for sure,” Darnold said.

Sam Darnold Admires One Key Trait Of Baker Mayfield

Mayfield bounced from the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Bucs during the 2023 season — replacing seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady as QB1 for Tampa Bay.

So Darnold, who is on his fourth team in as many seasons before finally finding a home in Seattle, has admired Mayfield’s perseverance and emulated it as well.

“I think his resilience is the biggest piece,” Darnold said when asked what he admires most about Mayfield. “Obviously he’s got all the talent in the world, the intangibles you need as a quarterback. But he’s resilient, and he’s a good dude.”

Darnold was asked about his calm and neutral nature about his former teams, which he feels is misunderstood — as opposed to Mayfield who openly carries grudges against his former clubs, including the Panthers.

“Baker may be a little bit more outspoken about [his resentments],” Darnold said. “For me, I come in here every single day. I do my job, and whatever I think about people or places, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.”

Though they carry themselves in different manners, Darnold also spoke highly of Mayfield’s fieriness — both on and off the field.

“[Mayfield] is a competitor, and he’s pretty fiery with it,” Darnold said. “It’s cool to be able to watch some of his tape too, when he runs for a first down and gets as excited as he does and gets the crowd into it.

“I’ve always loved that part of Baker’s game — just the way he plays with so much energy — and you can see the passion that he has for the game by the way that he plays.”