All summer long, the Carolina Panthers have engaged in a pointless guessing game about who will start as quarterback.
They’re not finished yet.Although reports claim that the recently acquired Baker Mayfield will be the starter — he will be, this has been obvious since the deal took place — head coach Matt Rhule has yet to make a formal declaration.
However, last week against the Washington Commanders, Mayfield began Carolina’s opening preseason game.
The Carolina Panthers’ Baker Mayfield won’t get the start on Friday
The Panthers then made the shocking announcement that neither Mayfield nor Sam Darnold, the starter from the previous season, would face the New England Patriots on Friday night. P.J. Walker, a carryover from 2021, will fill in the balance of the time with third-round rookie pick Matt Corral.
You are not the only one who is questioning why the Panthers are acting in this way. It’s not like Darnold or Mayfield couldn’t use the work overall or even the work with their new teammates.
Even so, Rhule is unmistakably of the opinion that Walker and Corral, who are vying for the third and fourth slots on the depth chart, benefit more from the reps.
Whatever the case, Carolina has until September 11 to formally announce their starter before facing the Cleveland Browns. The former No. 1 overall pick facing his first team in his first game for the Panthers might make that one of the all-time revenge games, assuming it’s Mayfield.
