Sam Darnold will make his 2022 regular-season debut when he starts at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, the team announced Tuesday.
Darnold — who was active for the first time in Week 11 during the Panthers’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens — will take his first snaps in Week 12. Darnold spent the first 10 weeks of the season on injured reserve, as he recovered from a high ankle sprain.
Darnold sustained the injury in Carolina’s preseason finale against Buffalo. He was placed on injured reserve following final cuts.
During the first 11 games of the season, Baker Mayfield and PJ Walker traded places in the starting lineup and on the bench. Mayfield has started six games, while Walker has started the other five. Both have missed time due to their own high ankle sprains.
Mayfield, with Darnold dressed as his backup, led the Panthers against the Ravens in Baltimore. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 196 yards and two interceptions. His QB rating was 54.6, and he led just one scoring drive.
Mayfield has gone 1-5 as a starter so far this season, while Walker went 2-3 during the first five games of Steve Wilks’ tenure as interim head coach.
Previously, Wilks had said that he wanted Darnold to get live-game reps before he started a game. But with the bye week coming up and the Panthers still looking to keep pace in the NFC South race, Wilks is calling an audible.
Darnold, a former top-three pick, was acquired in a trade with the New York Jets last offseason. Last season, Darnold went 4-7 as a starter, completing 59.9% of his passes for 2,527 yards, 9 passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He ran for 222 yards and five rushing touchdowns last season.
With Darnold, the Panthers will have prototypical size in the pocket. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Darnold is much larger than Walker and Mayfield. Darnold also has upside as a runner. More importantly, he has improved pocket mobility over Mayfield, who was sacked 19 times in six games.
It’s also worth noting that Mayfield’s playing time is linked to a 2024 conditional draft pick. The Panthers sent a conditional fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for Mayfield in July. That pick can improve to a fourth-round selection in 2024 if Mayfield plays 70% of the Panthers’ offensive snaps for the season.
Through 11 games, Mayfield has played 58.22% of the team’s offensive snaps. With the Panthers averaging 58 offensive snaps per game, Mayfield would need to play in five and a half of the six remaining games to hit that mark.
Starting Darnold and playing him through Sunday’s game could essentially wipe out Mayfield’s conditional tag, if the Panthers were to keep their snap-count pace.
Giving Darnold the opportunity to play before the bye week will allow the Panthers to decide where they want to go next at the quarterback position entering the final five weeks of the season. With the musical-chair element to the QB depth chart, the offense has been understandably inconsistent.
Darnold, in theory, could change that outlook with a strong performance against the Broncos.
