NFL insider shares how Panthers' decision on Baker Mayfield impacts quarterback situation

Rumors connecting the Carolina Panthers to Baker Mayfield have swirled for a couple months. As Carolina sorts out its quarterback situation, the Mayfield decision is important — and an NFL insider said it could determine who starts for Matt Rhule’s group.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler discussed the latest on the Panthers’ interest during a SportsCenter segment on Saturday. He noted Sam Darnold is likely to start out of the gate while Matt Corral develops, but a decision on a potential trade for Mayfield is an important piece of the puzzle as training camp comes around the corner.

“Sam Darnold has a pretty firm hold on the quarterback job right now,” Fowler said. “Matt Rhule, the head coach, admitted that Matt Corral, the rookie, probably [is] not ready. Might need some time.

“But the Baker Mayfield situation does loom large here. Carolina has been flirting with this for a while, dating back to the draft. Now, it all depends on how much money Cleveland would cover out of Mayfield’s $19 million. Right now, the belief league-wide is they’d maybe cover half. Carolina’s going to need them to cover more than that to do the deal.”

Darnold’s name came up in trade rumors as part of a hypothetical deal for Mayfield, but Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported such a trade is unlikely to happen. Last year was Darnold’s first season with the Panthers after coming over from the New York Jets, and he’ll compete with Corral for the starting job this season after Carolina took the former Ole Miss star in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Matt Rhule addresses Sam Darnold’s status, interest in upgrading the position

With so many rumors swirling about a potential mid-offseason trade for a new quarterback, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule spoke out about Sam Darnold and the bigger picture at QB.

“If we played today, Sam would be our quarterback,” Rhule said, via Joe Person of The Athletic.

While noting that Darnold looks “night and day” from OTAs last year, the Panthers head coach included a caveat.

“That being said, if something comes down that makes us better, we’ll take a look at it,” Rhule said.