Panthers QB Baker Mayfield (ankle) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Rams. QB P.J. Walker gets the start, with QB Jacob Eason backing him up.
The Panthers are listing QB Baker Mayfield (ankle) as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the Rams. Interim HC Steve Wilks said Friday that Mayfield might be active as the backup but confirmed that QB P.J. Walker will get the start.
Panthers QB Baker Mayfield suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "That means he’ll miss time, but how much will be determined by more tests and opinions," Rapoport adds. With QB Sam Darnold still out with his own ankle injury, Carolina will turn to QB P.J. Walker. The 27-year-old owns a 57% completion rate and 6.2 yards-per-attempt average on 128 NFL passes. So, as bad as Mayfield has been, don't expect Walker to be an upgrade.
The Panthers fired HC Matt Rhule. His former team is sitting at 1-4 after going 10-23 over his first 2 seasons. Carolina's ranks in total yards: 21st, 30th and 32nd. Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach Steve Wilks will take over as interim HC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He was HC for the Cardinals' 3-13 2018 season. It sounds like OC Ben McAdoo will be sticking around. We're not expecting the change to help Carolina's floundering offense (although it can't hurt).
Panthers QB Baker Mayfield picked up a left ankle injury in Sunday's loss to the 49ers. We saw him lipping at the end of the 1st half, but he was able to return for the 2nd. Mayfield was in a walking boot after the game and said he was headed for a Monday MRI. We should learn more tomorrow. With QB Sam Darnold still out with his ankle injury, QB P.J. Walker is Carolina's backup.
Panthers QB Sam Darnold (ankle) is eligible to come off the IR this week but is expected to still be sidelined for "a while," a source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter. This is worth reporting because QB Baker Mayfield has been so bad through 4 games that we're all wondering whether Darnold might actually be an upgrade. Unfortunately, it looks like it'll be Mayfield for at least a few more games.
The Panthers officially named QB Baker Mayfield their starter. This was expected since Carolina swung a trade for Mayfield in early July. He started the preseason opener over QB Sam Darnold, going 4-of-7 for 45 yards on 1 series. Mayfield is just a lower-end QB2 for fantasy squads, but we expect him to be an upgrade over Darnold for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers offense.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted Friday that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold “are still in a QB battle” for the starting job. Mayfield is believed to be the heavy favorite, but HC Matt Rhule hasn’t announced who’ll get the Week 1 nod vs. Cleveland.
The Panthers have announced that QB Baker Mayfield will start Saturday's preseason opener. This doesn't necessarily mean he's THE starter, but it sure seems like a signal that Mayfield holds at least a slight lead over incumbent Sam Darnold. And it comes less than a week after Ian Rapoport reported that Mayfield has the "inside track" to the gig. Mayfield is certainly our bet in this competition, and he's still going late enough to be a value in best-ball and superflex drafts.
Panthers OC Ben McAdoo said Tuesday that rookie QB Matt Corral is "slowly and quietly improving," according to Darin Gantt of the team website. "He has a unique skill set," the coach added. "He has some juice to him, personality wise." The trade for QB Baker Mayfield likely killed any shot Corral might have had at starting early in his rookie year. And this sounds like a coach offering measured optimism. Corral still makes for an interesting dynasty stash, with neither Mayfield nor Sam Darnold signed beyond this season.
QB Baker Mayfield has the "inside track" for the Panthers' starting job, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Mayfield and QB Sam Darnold have been splitting reps in camp, and that's expected to continue in the preseason, per Rapoport. "Based on the understanding [Mayfield] has of this offense, based on the kind of plays he can make, the kind of command he's already getting inside this locker room, it certainly does seem like it's Baker Mayfield's job to win," Rapoport says. We've projected Mayfield as Carolina's starter since the trade was made back in early July. Mayfield is just a low-end QB2 but should be an upgrade for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers' skill-position guys.
Joseph Person of The Athletic reports that the Panthers continue to alternate QB Baker Mayfield with QB Sam Darnold in 1st-team workouts at training camp. HC Matt Rhule says he'll let the competition play out rather than anointing anyone. Person writes, "My expectation is that it will be Mayfield -- and nothing from the first seven practices has changed my mind." He adds that Mayfield has looked more comfortable in the 2nd week of camp than he did the 1st, though he also says Darnold has "looked sharp." We'll continue assuming that Mayfield wins out but will watch for confirmation.
Panthers GM Scott Fitterer called the team’s QB situation “an open competition” on Tuesday. As such, Fitterer anticipates the reps being divvied up “fairly evenly” at the start of training camp. While competition might be a point of emphasis, Baker Mayfield enters camp as the clear favorite to start Week 1 over Sam Darnold. Current QB projections have the former Brown slated for 15 games.
The Browns are trading QB Baker Mayfield to the Panthers for a conditional 5th-round pick in 2024, NFL Network reports. The 2 teams "split the financials to make it happen," according to Ian Rapoport, so Carolina is presumably picking up about half of Mayfield's nearly $19 million 2022 cap hit. Mayfield is coming off a disappointing, injury-riddled 2021 season but played well the previous year, finishing 10th among 32 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' passing grades. In fact, Mayfield earned higher PFF passing grades in each of his first 3 NFL seasons than QB Sam Darnold has managed in any of his 4 NFL seasons. So Mayfield is a tangible upgrade for D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall and Christian McCaffrey. Mayfield himself looks like just a middling QB2, although those weapons give him some weekly upside. Check out the updated projections for the Panthers offense.
Update: Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Mayfield agreed to shave about $3.5 million off his 2022 salary. The Browns will pay him $10.5 million this year; the Panthers around $5 million.
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