Carolina Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks still has more QB questions than answers
Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore is cool with whichever quarterback Carolina starts this week.
“Sam, PJ, Baker, uh, what’s his (name)?” Moore said on Monday while listing the Panthers’ under-center options.
The name he was trying to remember was practice squad player-turned backup-turned possible starter Jacob Eason, who the team signed to its practice squad on Sept. 1 after Sam Darnold and rookie Matt Corral both landed on injured reserve just 10 days apart.
Once again, the Carolina Panthers don’t know who their starting quarterback is.
“It’s tough to say,” interim coach Steve Wilks said in response to whether Walker would start Sunday against Tampa Bay. “He is still dealing with a little bit of soreness in his neck. So we’ll see exactly where he is and most importantly just the progression of practice this week.”
Walker, who started but did not finish the Panthers’ 24-10 loss in Los Angeles, completed 10 of 16 passes for 60 yards against the Rams. He was knocked out of the game by a blitzing Jalen Ramsey during the fourth quarter.
He did not return, despite clearing concussion protocol. His average depth per target was 3.4 yards, the lowest among all Week 6 starting quarterbacks. Per Next Gen Stats, the longest air-yard completion via Walker was 1-yard downfield. His nine other completions came behind the line of scrimmage.
“It was tough to not see the ball get thrown downfield. That’s one of my strengths,” Walker said. “I thought we had a good game plan in the beginning. We executed it well early. But toward the second half, it just started to die down.”
Carolina did not penetrate the Rams’ 20-yard line until the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Eason completed a 49-yard check-down pass to Christian McCaffrey, which pushed Carolina to the red zone. It was the Panthers’ longest play of the afternoon.
Three plays later, Eason threw an end zone interception to Rams safety Nick Scott on a pass intended for McCaffrey.
The team will explore all its in-house options at quarterback. Wilks said he is hopeful Darnold will be activated from injured reserve this week. The team is unsure whether he will actually practice. Carolina has 21 days to assign Darnold to the active roster once he is active from IR.
Then there is Baker Mayfield, who was inactive against the Rams despite putting in what Wilks called an “impressive” Friday workout before the team’s practice. He is battling a high ankle sprain in his left foot. His status for practice this week is uncertain.
Wilks did not commit to naming Mayfield the starter once he is healthy enough to play.
“I think they are all considered to be in the mix, particularly with some of the injuries that we have,” Wilks said. “(Eason) played with poise. He really took the team down and put us in a situation where we had an opportunity to be able to score.”
Whether its Walker, Eason, Darnold or Mayfield, the Panthers still believe they can make an NFC South run. Over the next four weeks, Carolina will face three divisional opponents, including two games against the Falcons over a three-week span.
The Panthers (1-5) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) are the only teams with undefeated NFC South records. That will change Sunday.
“We got to continue to press. I feel like we are real close and really trying to get that first win to turn this thing around,” Wilks said. “We have a great opportunity (over these next four weeks) to really get ourselves back in the mix.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 5:40 PM.
