Sam Darnold Expected to Be Out 4–6 Weeks With Ankle Injury, per Report

Sam Darnold is expected to miss four to six weeks with what is believed to be a high ankle sprain, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

The Panthers backup quarterback underwent an MRI on Saturday morning after suffering the injury during the team’s preseason finale against the Bills on Friday night. He was scrambling out to his right to make a throw downfield when he was rolled up on by Bills defensive tackle C.J. Brewer.

Darnold was taken off the field on a cart and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Darnold will seek a second opinion, according to Rapoport, but the initial diagnosis is considered to be favorable given how severe the injury appeared on Friday night.

The injury to Darnold is the second significant one to affect a Carolina quarterback in the preseason. Rookie Matt Corral suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot earlier in the summer and is expected to miss the entirety of the season.

Panthers coach Matt Rhule named Baker Mayfield the team’s starter earlier in this week, but now questions about the rest of Carolina’s depth chart will begin to arise. With Darnold now likely to miss the first few weeks of the regular season, veteran P.J. Walker stands to serve as Mayfield’s primary backup to begin the year.

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