Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Battles: Who Will Start?

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CHARLOTTE- The Carolina Panthers come into the season and need to establish who the starting quarterback is. The Panthers have two likely candidates right now so who will get the call Week 1? It looks like Sam Darnold will get the nod again but time will tell. Cam Newton is also a possibility since he’s still a free agent.

Newton returned to the team after a brief time with the New England Patriots. It is important to remember that Newton is currently a free agent which opens up possibilities.

What about rookie Matt Corral out of Mississippi? As it currently stands, Darnold and Corral are currently the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart. Barring a major change, the coaching staff will choose one of these two quarterbacks.

Starting a rookie quarterback tends to have a lot of risks. Although Darnold has some struggles, the best option is to defer to experience most of the time. Darnold started 12 games in 2021 and passed for 2,527 yards and nine touchdowns. Those may not be great stats but Carolina would be better off letting Corral study the game at this level first rather than letting him play without preparation.

One possibility that continues to come up is either trading for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield or signing him if the Browns release him.

Whatever the Panthers do, it’s important to have the answer soon and move forward. What will the Panthers do? This will be interesting to watch.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Carolina Panthers aren’t the only team that could have a quarterback competition. The Pittsburgh Steelers may have an interesting competition too. Who will start at quarterback for one of the most successful franchises in the entire NFL?

As if right now it’ll almost certainly be Mason Rudolph. It’s important to remember that Rudolph is still developing his NFL skillset and being the starter will only accelerate his development. Granted, Rudolph had his struggles in just two games last season but this is another situation of deferring to experience. Rudolph had two starts and passed for 277 yards and one touchdown.

On the other hand, the local favorite and first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett out of Pittsburgh could take the starting role from Rudolph at some point. Chances are, Rudolph will start week one. Even so, it’ll be interesting to keep our eyes on the news out of Steelers training camp.