Panthers Coach Reveals If He's Close To Making A QB Decision

Published|Updated

The Carolina Panthers aren't ready to choose a starting QB between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.

The Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns during the offseason, and many believe the Oklahoma Heisman winner will ultimately beat out Sam Darnold for the job.

However, the team isn't in a position to make that call right now.

1899d3de-

Will Sam Darnold keep the starting job in Carolina? (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"We’re nowhere near the point of evaluating who’s where. This was Baker’s second practice ever with us. I can’t really evaluate that yet. I would expect to see things pretty much 50-50 for the immediate future. At some point, we’ll make some decisions. But I think that’s a long way off," head coach Matt Rhule explained to the media when talking about the QB situation.

8b617d6d-

Will the Panthers start Baker Mayfield at quarterback? (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Rhule further added, "The first few days, let’s get them off to a good start. And we’ll make some decisions, not about the competition, but about how do we want to divide the reps up. It’s not an easy thing to divide the reps up."

Who will start at QB for the Panthers? (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The reality of the situation is that there's no guarantee Mayfield is capable of being a better QB for the Panthers than Darnold.

Darnold has more time in the system, and he certainly comes with a much lower attention profile.

Will Baker Mayfield start for the Panthers? (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

However, the Panthers clearly traded for Mayfield for a reason, and the team is certainly incentivized to give him every opportunity in the world to become QB1.

If it happens, it's just not going to happen right away. Rhule made that crystal clear.

326990df-

Will Sam Darnold be the starting quarterback for the Panthers? (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Let us know in the comments who you think will be QB1 opening week for the Panthers!