4 key observations from Carolina Panthers preseason win at Commanders
By Miles Ruder
Carolina Panthers mismanaged QB reps between P.J. Walker and Matt Corral
Once Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold took the pads off and were done for the day, P.J. Walker took over, leading the offense to 10 points. The ex-XFL quarterback dropped back to pass 23 times and finished with a team-high 136 yards through the air.
Walker took the most snaps out of the four Carolina Panthers quarterbacks, which is perplexing, to say the least. Not that Mayfield or Darnold needed more preseason reps, but that it took until the fourth quarter for fans to see Matt Corral in action.
Compare Corral’s involvement to the rest of the rookie quarterbacks in their respective games. Malik Willis played the entire first half and more while Bailey Zappe entered the game in the second quarter.
Washington even let Sam Howell play the entire second half.
Corral didn’t look great and was inaccurate on a handful of pass attempts. But that will most certainly change with more reps and better protection and when it’s all said and done, Walker is likely on the outside looking in when it comes to making the 53-man roster.
Matt Rhule said the team plans to keep only three quarterbacks on the roster. Mayfield is a guarantee, Darnold is owed $18.85 million and Corral is a rookie with promise.
It’s possible the Panthers coaching staff played Walker to make it, in a way, an audition tape for him to showcase his talents to the rest of the league.
Regardless, it took valuable in-game reps away from Corral. It was an interesting coaching decision to wait until the fourth quarter to bring the Ole Miss product from the bench for a quarterback that likely won’t be on the roster in a few weeks.