Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold Hold Throwing Session Ahead of Training Camp

The quarterback battle is getting a bit of a head start.

As expected, the quarterback battle between Sam Darnold and newly acquired Baker Mayfield got an early start as the two rounded up some teammates for a throwing session in Charlotte ahead of training camp which begins next Tuesday.

“Sam reached out, got my number first,” Mayfield told Panthers.com. “We’ve been talking about how to get the guys together the last minute before camp. It’s been great. Sam just wants to win. That’s just who he is. Our personalities might be different, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the same goal, and that’s to win and help this team out."

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Fellow quarterbacks Matt Corral and P.J. Walker were also in attendance and although they may not be in the spotlight, they will be competing for the third-string job. Corral is expected to win that battle, but Matt Rhule is a big fan of Walker's and has repeatedly mentioned his 2-0 record as the team's starter.

Despite the trade for Mayfield, Panthers GM Scott Fitterer made it clear that the starting quarterback job is still up for grabs.

"No, this is an open competition. You know, the reason we added Baker was to make the group better as a whole. Our whole philosophy is to add competition not just in the quarterback room but at every position. So, if we see an opportunity where we can get better and it makes sense for us as a team and makes sense financially, we're going to do that. I think the competition is going to make Sam better. Sam, really had a nice spring for us. Stepped up and showed a lot of edge and threw the ball really well. I think competition would be good for him, be good for PJ [Walker] and it's good for Matt Corral. So I think overall, this is a very healthy situation for us all to be in."

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