Panthers HC Matt Rhule: 'If we played today, Sam (Darnold) would be our quarterback'

The Carolina Panthers' 2022 preseason opener is still nearly two months away, and the start to their regular season will follow one month later. Ironically, their Week 1 opponent is the Cleveland Browns.

While there has been a wide array of NFL signal-callers engulfed in rampant trade rumors this offseason, primary among them have been Carolina's Sam Darnold and Cleveland's Baker Mayfield. It was reported on Wednesday that a Darnold-for-Mayfield swap was "very unlikely".

As Panthers' mandatory minicamp wrapped up on Thursday, head coach Matt Rhule spoke with media members regarding the former New York Jets quarterback.

"Sam's gotten a lot better," per NFL.com's Michael Baca. "Really, really improving in the offense and if we played today, Sam would be our quarterback."

Since seeing the Browns seemingly replace him with controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson — and backup Jacoby Brissett — Mayfield has requested a trade from the team that drafted him first overall in 2018. Complicating the process has been potential suitors' desire for Cleveland to eat a large portion of Mayfield's nearly $19 million salary.

Despite frequent words indicating that Darnold was Carolina's "QB1" heading into the fall, the team also traded up in the NFL Draft to select Matt Corral and brings back P.J. Walker under center as well.