Matt Rhule Was Asked About Panthers QB Decision After Preseason Game

Mayfield and Darnold both sat out against the Patriots.

Following the team’s 20–10 loss at the hands of the Patriots on Friday night, Panthers coach Matt Rhule was not ready to name a starting quarterback for the regular season.

“Not yet,” Rhule said.

“You know, not prepared for anything right now other than watching this tape. Like I said all along, when we know we know, and we’ll announce something when it’s right. … The ones didn’t play and those guys [Mayfield and Darnold] are both competing to be with the ones, so we wanted to make sure they had a chance. We didn’t want to put one or two guys out there and play behind the second offensive line,” Rhule added.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier this month that the expectation is that Mayfield would have the “inside track” for the starting quarterback job, which makes sense given that the Panthers traded for the former Browns quarterback in July.

Mayfield has been competing with incumbent starter Sam Darnold, who split time with Cam Newton and PJ Walker under center last year for Carolina after suffering a shoulder injury during the middle of the season.

Darnold’s struggles a year ago led to the Panthers seeking quarterback help this offseason. Carolina drafted Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in April’s draft and then traded for Mayfield. Darnold completed just 59.9% of his passes for 2,527 yards with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 12 games.

The Panthers open the season on September 11th against Mayfield’s former team, the Browns.

• All Panthers: Rhule Explains Decision to Not Play Mayfield, Darnold vs New England 

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