Panthers GM Says It Will Be an 'Open Competition' for Starting QB Job

Last week, the Carolina Panthers agreed to send a 2024 conditional 5th round pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for QB Baker Mayfield.

The overwhelming assumption was that Mayfield would be coming in to be the team's starting quarterback, kicking Sam Darnold to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Tuesday afternoon, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer made it clear that this is not Mayfield's job just yet.

"No, this is an open competition. You know, the reason we added Baker was to make the group better as a whole. Our whole philosophy is to add competition not just in the quarterback room but at every position. So, if we see an opportunity where we can get better and it makes sense for us as a team and makes sense financially, we're going to do that. I think the competition is going to make Sam better. Sam, really had a nice spring for us. Stepped up and showed a lot of edge and threw the ball really well. I think competition would be good for him, be good for PJ [Walker] and it's good for Matt Corral. So I think overall, this is a very healthy situation for us all to be in."

Fitterer also noted that the team has not received any trade calls for Darnold and they don't plan on moving him even if another team begins to express interest. The one thing that Fitterer has been in search of all offseason is someone to truly "push" Darnold for the starting job. The team selected Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in the third round of this year's draft, but they feel he isn't quite ready to contend for the job at this time.

When asked if this would be labeled as a "redshirt year" for Corral, Fitterer didn't necessarily rule out the possibility of him competing for the job at some point in 2022.

"We'll see how it goes and how it all plays out. The one good thing about Matt, there is a good transition for him with this college offense that he was in and into the NFL offense. Especially this Ben McAdoo offense, there's a lot of verbiage. And this will allow him the chance to really learn at his own pace and learn from a couple of pros in the room in Sam and Baker. When it's time for him to get out there and play, he can get out there and earn that job if he's ready. But it's going to be on him to learn and to play well when he gets there. Right now, our focus is on getting all of our quarterbacks up to speed so we can play good, quality football this year at that position."

Given the timing of the trade, Sam Darnold will have a bit of an advantage as Mayfield only has two weeks to get familiar with the playbook before training camp begins in Spartanburg. Although it's not an ideal situation, it's not unfamiliar territory for Mayfield. As a matter of fact, this will be the fifth different offense he's had to learn in five years.

"There's been a lot of cramming the past week or so ever since becoming a Carolina Panther," said Mayfield. "It's been a lot of just getting to know everybody talking over the phone. Finally, officially get the playbook today. So, there'll be a lot of studying, a lot of cramming. It's a pretty hectic couple of weeks right here before training camp, but it's exciting. I'm trying to balance out reaching out to guys to get to know them as teammates while also realizing that I have to know my job in and out better than most."

How the reps will be split between Mayfield and Darnold is something that Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule still have to discuss, but the plan is to eventually work Mayfield up to getting an equal split with the first-team. How long that takes will solely depend on how quickly he picks up the nuances of the offense.

The goal for Mayfield is to come in and be the starting quarterback, but he knows the uphill battle he has ahead of him. The Panthers front office and coaching staff communicated to him during the trade negotiations with Cleveland that he is going to have to come in and earn the starting job. Regardless of how the QB battle unfolds, Mayfield will accept his role on the team and do whatever is asked of him to help the team win games.

"I think when you're at any level, nobody has the mentality of being a backup. We're at this level to compete to be the very best and that's why Sam is here as well. And that's why Matt Corral just got drafted here and PJ Walker has competed and fought through a lot of adversity as well. My intention is to become the best quarterback I can be to help this team win. I feel like this team is really close to being really, really good. We just have to put the pieces together and come together as a team. I'm going to fill whatever role is expected of me and be a great leader and a great teammate."

Last year when the Panthers acquired Sam Darnold, they picked up the fifth-year option on his contract before he ever took a single snap for the organization. This time around, they won't be making any long-term commitments prior to the season.

"No, our whole focus is bringing in Baker to compete with Sam," Fitterer stated. "We're going to take it up to training camp. This is as far as we're going to take it and we'll let it play out throughout the season. We'll make decisions later in the season, whether it's November, December, once there's a track record behind them in this offense, in this organization."

The Panthers report to training camp on July 26th at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. The team's first practice is slated for the following morning.

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