Sam Darnold – Carolina Panthers QB
If we are being fair in this Carolina Panthers “quarterback competition”, Sam Darnold was arguably as impressive as Baker Mayfield in his initial preseason debut. While he was given a short field, the signal-caller did two things he failed to do last season.
Darnold was consistently poised and finished the Panthers’ drive with a touchdown. It is a great piece of tape for Carolina in their attempt to trade the former USC standout and hopefully an indication his career is headed in the right direction.
Barring a magical preseason from Darnold it would be shocking for Mayfield not to be named the starter come Week 1 and the No. 3 overall selection in 2018 wasn’t backing him up or in another uniform.
However, it is only fair to point out that Darnold did a great job on Carolina’s first touchdown drive, hanging in the pocket and delivering a beautiful touchdown pass he couldn’t have walked to Rashard Higgins more perfectly.
A preseason red carpet rollout 😎 pic.twitter.com/4km3e7LmvA
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 13, 2022
It was a short field and not a high-pressure situation, but it was still a nice moment for Darnold and surprising to see the quarterback deliver a nice moment on his first drive. A strong preseason might be enough for the Panthers to find someone willing to take on a portion of his salary and officially give Mayfield the keys to the kingdom.