Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold really needed some good news on Saturday. After leaving last night’s preseason finale on a cart and losing out to Baker Mayfield in the team’s competition under center before that, this camel might not have been able to take one more straw.
Well, luckily, it didn’t—as he got a relatively positive diagnosis from his MRI.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Darnold is expected to miss just four to six weeks upon sustaining what is likely a high-ankle sprain. The fifth-year passer saw an early and ugly exit after Buffalo Bills defensive tackle C.J. Brewer rolled over his foot on Friday—an incident that, thankfully, wasn’t as damaging as it initially looked.
Before being sent away to the locker room, Darnold completed five of his 11 attempts for 49 yards in his first time out as the official backup to Mayfield. He also rushed for a 1-yard score in the third quarter.
If the Panthers want to keep Darnold into the regular season, he must be included on the 53-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline. So if that’s the case, which it very likely is, PJ Walker’s chances of sticking around and holding it down behind Mayfield just got a lot better.
