3 reasons the Carolina Panthers must keep Sam Darnold in 2022

Carolina Panthers can’t count on Matt Corral or P.J. Walker

Before Matt Corral’s season-ending injury, the rookie looked lost at the next level failing to get through his reads and making poor decisions. The third-round selection obviously had no shot at the starting job or backing up Baker Mayfield this season.

Corral is a project quarterback who was an emergency option for the Carolina Panthers in 2022. Now the team is left with only two options to choose from in P.J. Walker and Sam Darnold as Mayfield’s primary understudy.

Walker had a great first preseason game for the Panthers. Unfortunately, he followed it up with an ugly performance that saw him throw two interceptions and struggle to make the right calls under pressure.

The former XFL MVP candidate has been an up and down player throughout his career. Hardly the reliable backup you want sitting behind Mayfield with so much at stake for the Panthers next season.

While he has a myriad of faults, Darnold is far more proven than Walker. He would be a player who has a chance to step in and have a huge game.

His ceiling is higher than Walker’s as a backup and gives the team a chance to win in the event Mayfield is forced off at any stage. But whether the Panthers take three quarterbacks onto the team now that Corral is done for the year remains the big question.