The Carolina Panthers named their starting quarterback Monday, doing what has been expected for the past couple of weeks when they named Baker Mayfield as the winner of the job.
It was a “Captain Obvious” sort of move, but also the right thing to do. For those who have watched the Panthers in practice, Mayfield was clearly outplaying Sam Darnold. He throws a better ball, takes more downfield shots and has learned enough of the offense (although certainly not all of it) to make the Panthers comfortable throwing him out there in Week 1.
That first game, Sept. 11 at home against the Cleveland Browns, will be a revenge game of sorts for Mayfield, whether he admits it or not. Mayfield quarterbacked the Browns for almost all of the past four seasons, but Cleveland grabbed Deshaun Watson this offseason and gave him the most ridiculous contract in NFL history.
