The Carolina Panthers made some big quarterback moves on Monday. However, when it came to naming a starter for Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, they’re right back where they started last week with PJ Walker.
Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks announced Monday that Walker will get the start again in the short week.
Steve Wilks makes it official.https://t.co/m9ZixKBlNe
— Darin Gantt (@daringantt) November 7, 2022
Walker is coming off a pretty disastrous first-half performance against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. By the time he was benched and replaced with Baker Mayfield, Walker earned a dubious 0.0 passer rating on the day. Mayfield was able to improve things for Carolina but they still ended up losing 42-21 in a game that wasn’t really as close as that score makes it seem.
Wilks fired multiple assistant coaches on Monday, and the team made some big changes on the quarterback depth chart, activating Sam Darnold, who has been injured for much of the season after losing the starting quarterbacks job to Baker Mayfield during the offseason. The team also released Jacob Eason from the practice squad to make room.
However, given the short week to prepare, coupled with the fact that Walker excelled against the Falcons two weeks ago, it makes sense to give him another shot to prove himself. Walker completed 13-of-21 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown in the second half when the two teams met in Atlanta.
It’s clear, however, that Wilks will have no problem pulling Walker if he has another bad day. The question now is whether or not he replaces the starter with Mayfield or Darnold if and when the time comes.
