The Carolina Panthers have named Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback, the team announced on Monday.
Panthers head coach Mat Rhule commented on the decision, saying:
“When we started this process, we were looking at three things,” Rhule said. “Number one, mastery of the offense, number two, situational football excellence, and number three, moving the ball and getting guys involved. That’s been our focus all along.
“Baker has made a lot of improvement, a lot of growth in all three areas in a short amount of time.”
The Panthers have Sam Darnold and PJ Walker on their roster after losing rookie Matt Corral for the season after the suffered a foot injury.
“All along, we’ve felt like we need to have a really strong quarterback room, and have every quarterback ready to play,” Rhule said. “The reality of this league is most teams will play multiple quarterbacks. Sam has worked incredibly hard, played really well for us during training camp, and will be ready to go if and when it’s needed.”
Mayfield’s first game will be against his former team – the Cleveland Browns.
