Panthers Won’t Alter QB Situation After Acquiring Baker Mayfield

The Carolina Panthers are on the brink of adding Baker Mayfield, someone who is likely to be the team’s starter for the coming NFL season.

However, there are questions in the air as far as what lies ahead for Sam Darnold.

Darnold, the third overall pick of the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft, could find himself displaced with the arrival of Mayfield.

Regardless, it appears the Panthers will stick with the 25-year-old California native for now.

According to multiple reports, Carolina has no immediate plans of trading away the former USC Trojan.

Instead, it appears that Darnold and Mayfield will be competing to determine who the Panthers’ starting quarterback will be for the coming NFL season.

In 2021, Darnold drew attention for his hot start. All that was doused after he suffered an injury as he ended the season at 4-7 as a starter, completing 59.9% of his passes for 2,572 yards.

Darnold also had nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Moreover, he rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns but had nine fumbles.

Darnold is due to make $18.86 million for the 2022-23 NFL season, near what Mayfield was originally supposed to make.

Mayfield, who is originally owed $18.8 million, agreed to a pay cut to help facilitate the trade from the Cleveland Browns to Carolina.

Despite reports claiming that the Panthers do not intend to trade Darnold, a tempting offer could alter that stance.

But assessing the Californian standout’s performance in his first four seasons, interest in Darnold may not be that high.

Tied to the recent move of Mayfield is the status of Cam Newton.

With Mayfield, Darnold and Matt Corral manning the quarterback rotation, the chances of possibly seeing the 2015 NFL MVP return to Carolina may have been shut down.

After a stint with the New England Patriots in 2020, Newton returned to Carolina in 2021.

The reunion electrified the Carolina organization, but the experiment turned out to be a disappointment overall.

Hence, Newton will have to look for another NFL team this season with hopes of continuing his pro football career.