When the Panthers Could Name a QB1
The quarterback battle between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold is still going strong after two weeks of training camp. I think it's fair to say that over the last couple of practices, Mayfield has asserted himself as the leader in the competition thanks to Darnold returning to his 2021 form at times making bad decisions with the football and being unable to rebound from those plays.
Each quarterback threw an interception in Saturday's scrimmage but Myles Hartsfield's pick of Mayfield, from my angle, was just a good play on the ball. Whereas Darnold's INT was forced near the sideline.
Despite some separation occurring, head coach Matt Rhule said he's nowhere near making a decision.
"I don't see us making any major decisions at any position. I'm not putting a timetable on the quarterback position, but until after we get back from the Patriots week - I think the Patriots week is a true litmus test for us. Where are we really? We're going against another team, we're practicing. I think that'll really show us where guys are. We'll continue to split the reps and we'll make evaluations off of today's tape. We'll make some evaluations after training camp in Wofford ends on Wednesday and then probably after the [Washington] game and the Patriots [game].
"Quarterback, to me, is when we know, we know. We're not going to rush it."
Rhule also said that he hasn't seen any separation but that it was hard to tell from his vantage point on Saturday. I imagine after he reviews the tape, that opinion will change.
"Nothing yet. I can't really say anything off of standing on the field. There's kind of a disparity to be quite honest with you sometimes with who you're playing with and who you're playing against. I have to go back and watch the tape. The disappointing thing is we had two interceptions. Each guy had an interception. We've got to protect the football. But I did see some good things. Saw some explosive plays. We'll dig into the tape and see who is truly mastering the offense and who's not. There's a lot of work to be done over the next two days by us coaches."
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