Jets DC Steve Wilks Hits Back at Baker Mayfield Over ‘Personal’ Jab While Pointing to Christian McCaffrey Trade

The Carolina Panthers traded away quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Christian McCaffrey during the 2022 season.

Jets DC Steve Wilks Hits Back at Baker Mayfield Over ‘Personal’ Jab While Pointing to Christian McCaffrey Trade

Baker Mayfield, Christian McCaffrey; Steve Wilks (Images via PFF/ESPN/NBC Sports)

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Baker Mayfield, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, pulled off yet another last-minute clutch comeback to win their third game of the season against the New York Jets. The Bucs had earlier defeated the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons in a similar fashion and now lead the NFC South.

In the aftermath of the Jets’ game, Mayfield confessed that his late-game actions had a hidden meaning. The match was personal rather than being a random game in the schedule. The Oklahoma Sooners product mentioned that the Jets’ defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, played a part in Mayfield’s untimely departure from the Carolina Panthers.

After a promising collegiate career, Mayfield was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Despite initial promises of a successful career in Ohio, his career took a turn for the worse after the first year. He played in Raleigh for a short stint, marred by controversies and troubles, before he requested a release. Mayfield told reporters:

I loved it. And also their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina. Lot of stuff was personal today. Haason Reddick, former Jet…Lot of people.

Steve Wilks has now come out against the allegations made by the Bucs’ QB. Wilks said before Jets practice Friday in Florham Park:

I don’t really think an interim coach has much authority over personnel. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t have gotten rid of our best player, Christian McCaffrey.

While the question about whether Wilks played any role in Mayfield’s early release may not be answered, his career has bounced back since leaving Raleigh. Mayfield has taken the Buccaneers to consecutive playoffs in 2023 and 2024. He has started 37 games for the Bucs in the regular season, winning 22 of those. Last season, he even posted career highs in completions, attempts, completion rates, passing yards, and touchdowns.

Mayfield was third behind Joe Burrow and Jared Goff in most passing yards while he was tied second with Lamar Jackson in passing touchdowns.

Bill Barnwell rips into the Christian McCaffrey trade by the Carolina Panthers

Christian McCaffrey was also traded in the middle of the 2022 season to make way for a roster rebuild. Ahead of Week 7, McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a second, third, and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft.

Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey in Carolina Panthers (Images via CNN)

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently revisited the trade, and to put it simply, his assessment was blunt. He wrote in his column:

The Panthers didn’t make much of their picks. They packaged two of them to move up for [D.J.] Johnson, who has one half-sack in three seasons. The second-rounder went to the Bears in the ill-fated move up for [Bryce] Young, and the 2024 pick was involved in the Brian Burns trade. That eventually became part of the Rams’ move up for Braden Fiske, with the Panthers trading down and adding [Jonathon] Brooks, who has battled knee injuries during his brief pro career.

The McCaffrey deal, intended to accelerate a rebuild, instead became a symbol of squandered opportunity and questionable decision-making that defined the Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer era.

Meanwhile, McCaffrey continued to prove his worth in San Francisco. Despite periodic injury concerns, he remains one of the league’s premier dual-threat weapons. Through the first three weeks of the current season, he has already amassed 389 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.

Since the trade, the 49ers have advanced to two deep playoff runs, including a Super Bowl appearance to close the 2023 season. While the Panthers have settled on Chuba Hubbard as their new feature back, he’s no McCaffrey.

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