Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold wasn’t atrocious in Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he wasn’t good enough either.
In his third start of the 2022 campaign, the fifth-year passer completed 14 of his 23 throws for a season-high 225 yards and one touchdown. And although he still has yet to commit a turnover, Darnold—as shown in his Week 15 performance—can only take the offense so far.
So, when asked by ESPN’s David Newton if Darnold played well enough to get the start next week against the Detroit Lions, interim head coach Steve Wilks wasn’t exactly committal in his response.
“We’re gonna watch the tape and evaluate everybody,” he said simply.
To be fair, the continuous evaluation at every position has been a part of Wilks’ modus operandi throughout his nine-game tenure at the helm. He has also, however, named starting quarterbacks during postgame pressers before—something he couldn’t do following Darnold’s underwhelming showing.
If Darnold somehow isn’t the man under center in Week 16, the obvious next man up would be PJ Walker—who has made five starts this season.
