Carolina Panthers announce Baker Mayfield will start first preseason game

The Carolina Panthers made it official. Baker Mayfield will start their preseason opener against the Washington Commanders on Saturday.

Mayfield will start the game over Sam Darnold, the Panthers announced Saturday morning. Carolina traded for Mayfield earlier this offseason after he requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns and he’s been competing with Darnold to be the starting quarterback.

Mayfield and Darnold will alternate taking reps with the starters, Carolina said in the announcement. PJ Walker and Matt Corral will see most of the action in the preseason game.

“When we know, we know,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said of the decision-making process. “If we knew for sure, we would say it and just move on with it. When we know, we know. Every day brings new evidence. Every day brings new insights. But at the same time, they’re both competitors.

“If one guy has a strong day, the next guy fights back the next day. I think it’s been healthy for our team. It’s been healthy for the staff. I think it’s been done the right way. I’m pleased with where it’s at.”

Earlier this week, Rhule talked about the plan for the game before he officially declared a starter. Although Mayfield and Darnold won’t see a lot of snaps, it’s still a big step in the ongoing quarterback competition with the season just a few weeks away.

“We know each guy is going to get a series, so we’re going to play a lot of our starters,” Rhule said. “I don’t know if 8-10-12-15 plays depending how the series goes, so I will play each quarterback for one series and then kind of get those guys out and play the rest of the guys for the rest of the game.”

Kickoff between Carolina and Washington is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.