After weeks of competition at training camp, it appears that Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is finally ready to choose a course for his offense. Quarterback Baker Mayfield is expected to be named the starter for Week 1 ahead of Sam Darnold, who underwhelmed in his first season with the team last year.
The Athletic’s report on Wednesday does not necessarily come as a surprise, as Carolina traded with the Cleveland Browns for Mayfield during the offseason and named him as the starter in the team’s first preseason game. That being said, both quarterbacks have plenty to prove after disappointing starts to their careers. There may now be a starter in Charlotte, but it’s still unclear if there’s a winner.
Following a solid 2020 season in which Cleveland made the playoffs, Mayfield and the Browns seemed firmly in the hunt again in 2021 until they weren’t. On Dec. 20, the 7-6 Browns played the Las Vegas Raiders with a chance to take first place in the AFC East with a win. The next morning, they were in last place following a brutal 16-14 defeat.
Mayfield didn’t play because he could not clear COVID-19 protocols, but it may not have mattered, as he returned for two of the team’s final three games of the season and played poorly in two more losses.
Over the course of the regular season, Mayfield only managed to throw for more than 300 yards on two occasions. With the Browns in an intense division battle for most of the year, he earned an overall quarterback rating of 35.1. To make matters worse, the quarterback had to get surgery after the season to treat an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Cleveland traded him away for a conditional fifth-round pick.
Meanwhile, Darnold’s first season in Carolina was even more disappointing. After beginning hot with three straight victories and four games over 250 yards, the former New York Jets quarterback regressed significantly for the rest of the season.
Missing most of November and December with a scapula fracture didn’t help, and between Oct. 10 and Jan. 9, Darnold only managed to throw for more than 200 yards on two occasions. The Panthers went 5-12, marking his fourth straight season below .500 to begin his career.
The battle for the Panthers’ starting job in 2022 is not one with personal glory or playoff hopes attached. That’s beyond the scope of what Carolina is currently capable of providing its players, even as Christian McCaffrey returns from injury in the backfield. Instead, the starting job in Carolina is an opportunity, one that both quarterbacks had to claw for.
With time running out on their “young upstart” reputations, both men have to deliver soon or fade into NFL obscurity. Mayfield’s earned the shot — for now.
