The Panthers have given Baker Mayfield a chance to compete to be their starting quarterback in 2022.
Anything beyond that will have to wait.
In his Tuesday press conference, G.M. Scott Fitterer said the Panthers have not yet had any talks with Mayfield and his representation about a contract extension.
“Our whole focus was bringing Baker in to compete with Sam [Darnold],” Fitterer said. “We’ll take it up to training camp. That’s as far as we’re going to take it and we’ll let it play out throughout the season. We’ll make decisions based later in the season, whether it’s November or December. At that point, once there’s a track record behind him in this offense and this organization.”
Mayfield, the No. 1 pick of the 2018 draft, was slated to play on his fifth-year option that carried a salary of $18.86 million. But Mayfield agreed to a significant pay cut to help facilitate the trade from Cleveland to Carolina.
Darnold, the 2018 draft’s No. 3 pick, will make $18.86 million on his fifth-year option, which Carolina picked up after trading for him last year.