Panthers QB Not Close To Returning From Injured Reserve

With a loss in Week 4 to the Arizona Cardinals, the Carolina Panthers have fallen to 1-3 on the young season, and with Baker Mayfield struggling at Quarterback and their offensive weapons failing to fire, the team would likely welcome a QB controversy at this point. While that could be possible, with Sam Darnold eligible to come off injured reserve this week, according to reports, the former Jets starter is nowhere near ready to return yet, so for Panthers fans frustrated with Mayfield, they'll need to get used to him as the starter.

Panthers’ QB Sam Darnold is now eligible to come off of injured reserve, but he’s still not close to being from the high ankle sprain he suffered in late August, per source. It’s still, in the words of a source, “going to be a while.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 3, 2022

Darnold was the starter in 2021 after Carolina acquired him from the New York Jets, but after also acquiring Mayfield this past off-season, the team had the two highest drafted QB's from the 2018 NFL Draft on the roster, and needed to figure out who could lead this team to the most success. Mayfield won the starting job, but then in August, Darnold suffered a high ankle sprain, and for those hoping for his return, some around the Panthers have been quoted as saying "it's going to be a while", which is terrible news for the former No. 3 overall pick.

At this point, it's tough to see the Panthers climbing out of their 1-3 and contending for a Wild Card spot, as the division is just too tough and they don't have the elite level talent, but it would be nice to see Darnold return at some point and create a genuine QB controversy in Carolina.

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