Panthers' Sam Darnold will 'support' new starter Baker Mayfield

It was widely believed that the Carolina Panthers didn't trade with the Cleveland Browns in July for quarterback Baker Mayfield just to sit him behind 2021 starter Sam Darnold, who largely underwhelmed during his one and only season atop the club's depth chart. 

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule confirmed the expected news on Monday and announced that Mayfield will enter the regular season as his QB1 and will get the nod for the Week 1 matchup on Sept. 11 against none other than the Browns, his former employer. 

Darnold's future with the Panthers and in the NFL, in general, is unclear. Both Carolina and the New York Jets have given up on the signal-caller, and the 25-year-old who was the third overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft is in the final year of his rookie contract and likely won't be re-signed by a Panthers team that grabbed Matt Corral in the third round of this year's player-selection process. 

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Darnold admitted while speaking with reporters that losing the competition to Mayfield "sucks," but he also vowed to assist his new teammate in any way possible. 

"We were fighting for the starting job," Darnold said about the battle. "Every day was our game day out there during camp, especially as we got into these last couple weeks. . . . Obviously it didn’t go my way. Coach named Baker the starter. My mindset is it is what it is. For me, right now, I’m gonna do everything I can to support Baker and get him ready to play a game."

Darnold missed time last fall with a shoulder injury and finished the season 29th among eligible quarterbacks with a 71.9 passer rating and a 33.2 total QBR, per ESPN stats. Over 12 games, he completed 59.9% of his passes for 2,527 yards with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.