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Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said this week that quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Commanders, but did not specify which quarterback would start the game.
The answer came on Saturday morning. The team announced that Mayfield will start and the plan is for him to play the first series of the game. Darnold would enter the second series before the team switched to rookie Matt Corral and PJ Walker for the rest of the contest.
Both quarterbacks have stopped working out with the first team during training camp practices and the competition is expected to remain open until at least their second preseason game. The Panthers will also have joint practices with the Patriots before next week’s game, so there will be additional opportunities to evaluate quarterbacks against opposing defenses.
The Panthers also announced that defensive tackle Derrick Brown will miss Saturday’s game due to personal reasons.