Once again, the Panthers are starting a different quarterback due to the incumbent starter suffering a high ankle sprain.
Interim coach Steve Wilks named Baker Mayfield the team’s Week 11 quarterback on Monday after announcing PJ Walker suffered an ankle injury in Thursday night’s 25-15 victory against Atlanta.
“An MRI on PJ (Walker) revealed a high ankle sprain, so Baker will be the starter this week, along with Sam being the backup,” Wilks said. “All those guys want to play, but we have to do what’s best for the team. A high ankle sprain means limited mobility for us moving around in the pocket. It was just best to let him sit this week and go with Baker.”
Wilks said Walker sprained his ankle in the second half of the prime-time game. He finished the contest, but testing over the long weekend revealed an injury. Walker came up limping after taking a fourth-quarter high-low hit from Grady Jarrett and Rashaan Evans.
With Walker out, Sam Darnold will back up Mayfield. Wilks said the team does not plan on placing Walker on injured reserve.
Mayfield is 1-4 as the Panthers’ starter this season. He injured his ankle in Week 5 against San Francisco and has not started since. He threw two second-half touchdowns in Week 9 against the Bengals after Wilks benched Walker. Mayfield has a career record of 3-5 against the Ravens, including 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The Panthers quarterback carousel continues as the team looks for its first win outside of the NFC South. Carolina also has not won a road game yet this year.
Mayfield has a chance to help change that in Baltimore on Sunday, but it’ll be a challenging task. The Panthers are 11.5-point underdogs according to DraftKings.com.
Walker’s injury marks the third time a Panthers quarterback has suffered a high ankle sprain playing on Bank of America Stadium’s artificial turf this season. It’s the fourth foot injury to a Panthers quarterback this year. Rookie Matt Corral was lost for the season due to a Lisfranc injury suffered during Week 2 of the preseason at New England.
Walker was in line to start his sixth consecutive game before testing revealed the severity of his injury. He is 2-3 as a starter.
“This is the decision that is best for the team. For me, it’s about getting better one day at a time and see where I’m at Wednesday or Thursday,” Walker said. “This is really disappointing. It’s tough to deal with because I want to be out there with the guys.”
Walker has not had a high ankle sprain since college. He said he feels his mobility is at only about 50 or 55%, which is why the team is turning back to Mayfield. Walker said he wants to practice this week but does not know if he will be able to.
The team is off Tuesday before returning to practice Wednesday.
Last week the team activated Sam Darnold to the 53-man roster. He was designated to return from IR on Oct. 19 and has been practicing since. He was inactive against Atlanta, but should be up on Sunday in Baltimore. Wilks said Darnold is progressing well despite not playing a regular season game since last season.
“What he’s been doing in practice shows that he’s progressing and getting to that point,” Wilks said of Darnold. Wilks indicated that he’d like for Darnold to play some live snaps before potentially starting later this season.
Injury updates
— Cornerback Donte Jackson will miss the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles, which the team announced Friday. Wilks categorized the injury as a “major loss”. Wilks said cornerback Keith Taylor will likely see increased playing time with Jackson out. Taylor played 12 snaps (19%) of the Panthers’ defensive snaps against Atlanta.
— Wilks said there is a chance the team signs a cornerback but the team will first look at internal talent like Tae Hayes to step up.
— Safety Jeremy Chinn was taken off IR last week and is trending toward playing soon. Wilks said he is unsure if Chinn will be available Sunday.
“I cannot really say right now (whether) he’ll play,” Wilks said. “He did a great job last week and showed some promise so hopefully we’ll be able to get him up this week.”
