Steve Wilks Still Wants to See Sam Darnold
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Going all the way back to training camp, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold have been battling for the starting quarterback job in Carolina. Mayfield won the job in preseason and in the final preseason game, Darnold suffered an ankle sprain.
Mayfield struggled in his first five starts and he too suffered an ankle sprain. P.J. Walker was thrust into action and led the charge offensively for the Panthers before, you guessed it, he suffered an ankle sprain.
Now, Mayfield and Darnold are healthy at the same time for the first time all season. Earlier in the week, interim head coach Steve Wilks named Mayfield the starter but hinted that we could see Darnold at some point. On Friday, he cleared up the plan for this week's game against the Baltimore Ravens.
"Sam Darnold will be up. Baker is going to start. And as I mentioned earlier in the week, we're going to see how the game goes," said Wilks. "Baker is going to start, he's going to compete, and play the whole game. I want to have an opportunity to get Sam Darnold in there if it presents itself. But nothing planned as of now."
While Mayfield may be the starter for now, he may be on a short leash.
"As you've seen the trend, at any point in time, things can happen. You go from Baker to PJ to back to Baker, so I want him to have an opportunity before his opportunity comes just to be able to get in there and get his feet wet again," Wilks stated. "As I mentioned before, he hasn't really played live action since last year because I really don't count the few snaps he got in preseason."
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