The Carolina Panthers and head coach Matt Rhule announced Baker Mayfield as the starting quarterback on Monday. Although it wasn't much of a surprise, both Mayfield and Sam Darnold worked hard in their QB battle. And their efforts reportedly affected the rest of the team in a major way, per Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick.
Quick reported that Matt Rhule said the Panthers have modeled themselves after the way Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold carried themselves during the QB competition. Both quarterbacks fought hard throughout and did not complain nor fight with one another. And any issues that may have transpired were handled internally.
They set a precedent for Carolina as the Panthers prepare to embark on the 2022 season. Matt Rhule commented further on Baker Mayfield and his professionalism.
“It’s not easy what he (Mayfield) did,” Rhule said. Quick added that Rhule said Mayfield acted “stoic and professional” upon hearing the news that he won the QB battle with Darnold.
With all of this being said, Matt Rhule had no intention of comparing the quarterbacks with the media.
“I hope you guys understand, both of those guys are really important,” Rhule said. “So I'm not going to compare them… at the end of the day, I believe in both guys. I believe in who Sam Darnold is. I believe in how hard he's worked and how professional he's been. At the end of the day, we felt like Baker has made a lot of progress in a short amount of time… we felt like it was right to make that move for this team.”
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