It was revealed on Monday that Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Mayfield will miss time due to the injury, but it is unclear exactly how much time he will miss for Carolina.
The team has announced that backup quarterback PJ Walker will start in Mayfield’s absence, but a second opinion on Mayfield’s injury seems to indicate that he could be back sooner than anticipated.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Mayfield’s second opinion confirmed that there is no major damage to his ankle, and surgery will not be required.
Pelissero also added that the Panthers will not put Mayfield on the injured reserve list at this point, and he may possibly return within four games.
#Panthers QB Baker Mayfield received second opinions on his high ankle sprain that confirmed there’s no major damage and no surgery needed, per sources. He’s not going on IR as of now, leaving open the possibility he could be back within four games.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 11, 2022
It seems to be more of a pain tolerance and mobility issue than a risk of reaggravating the injury when Mayfield (seen above in an Oct. 2 game) does return. And he has a track record of battling through injuries.
But considering Mayfield’s poor performance thus far this season, he may be quickly approaching thin ice when it comes to the security of his starting quarterback position on the Panthers. This injury will certainly not help things, which leaves him with two possibilities on how to approach this injury.
Mayfield could attempt to rush back so that Walker or anyone else doesn’t take his starting job. Or he could be patient with his recovery timeline and hope that he can be 100 percent healthy when he does return.
In any case, it will certainly be interesting to see how Walker performs in Mayfield’s absence given the lack of production that the Panthers’ offense has shown so far. That was a factor in the firing of head coach Matt Rhule.
[Tom Pelissero on Twitter; photo from Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports]
