SPARTANBURG, S.C. — As Sam Darnold walked off the practice fields at Wofford College on Monday, Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer pulled him aside for a quick conversation.
Unannounced to Darnold, a report surfaced early Monday that the Panthers may be actively shopping him as the team began to practice. Fitterer told Darnold to “not worry” about any trade rumors.
Shortly after the report — which was later deleted — The Charlotte Observer reported that the Panthers were “not shopping” Darnold, citing multiple league sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
Darnold has been in competition with Baker Mayfield for the starting job during training camp. They again evenly split first-team reps during Day 10 of Panthers practice.
After practice, coach Matt Rhule said the team is not trying to trade Darnold.
“I haven’t had those conversations,” Rhule said. “We’re in the middle of a quarterback battle. I assume along with quarterback battles, things like that are going to be said. But nothing has been said to me by Scott or anybody that we’re in that.”
Fitterer acquired Mayfield with the intention that he would compete with Darnold and rookie Matt Corral. That plan has not changed, even though Mayfield is emerging as a favorite to start Week 1 as he is consistently outperforming the other quarterbacks.
Even if the team is shopping Darnold, he’d be difficult to move. His $18.9 million, fifth-year option is fully guaranteed and too large of a salary for a new team to take on. Mayfield, who is also playing on his fifth-year option, took a $3.5 million pay cut just to join the Panthers.
Darnold said he’s not paying attention to rumors.
“I talked to Scott. He said not to worry about it,” Darnold said. “So to be honest, before he even talked to me, I didn’t even see it. So I’m just going to continue to do me and do what I can to put myself in a good position and put this team in a good position.”
There is not much of a market for Darnold at the moment. That could change if a quarterback around the league were to get hurt. But the San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo likely would be moved before a team would show interest in Darnold.
That means Darnold will be with the Panthers for the foreseeable future. The team may need him if Mayfield is named the starter but gets injured. Multiple times this preseason, Rhule has mentioned the importance of depth at every position.
Monday’s practice featured much of the same between Mayfield and Darnold. Both quarterbacks split time with the first team. Neither did much with their reps, though Mayfield won the day by making multiple highlight throws during 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 passing situations.
“That’s been the big emphasis,” Mayfield said, to continue to get better, become more comfortable within this system and start to learn these receivers and where to put the ball for them.
The team will practice Tuesday and Wednesday in Spartanburg before breaking camp ahead of Thursday night’s Fan Fest at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers travel to Washington on Friday for their first exhibition on Saturday.
Notes
— Panthers rookie tackle Ikem Ekwonu repped heavily with the first team at left tackle. Before Monday’s practice, Ekwonu was playing mostly with the second team. It seems unlikely the team would start him at guard considering he is not getting much work there.
— Slot receiver Shi Smith had two catches at practice, both went for first downs. He is competing with C.J. Saunders for first-team slot reps.
— Cornerbacks C.J. Henderson and Jaycee Horn returned to practice. Henderson (ankle) sat out of practice on Friday and Saturday but participated fully on Monday. Horn only did individual drills after not dressing Saturday. Cornerback Keith Taylor remained in a red jersey dealing with a hamstring injury.
— Wide receiver Terrace Marshall is still not practicing. He injured his calf early last week and is considered day-to-day.
— Defensive end Marquis Haynes wore a red jersey just two days after being carted out of practice with a knee injury. He is considered day-to-day.
