Tag: PJ Walker

Report: Panthers will not tender QB PJ Walker

Per Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers will not place a tender on QB PJ Walker—making him an unrestricted free agent.

PJ Walker won’t have any strings on him starting at 4 p.m. ET today.

As first reported by Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Carolina Panthers will not place a tender on the 28-year-old quarterback. He will now, as a result, officially hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

Walker has spent the past three seasons in Carolina. His stay began after his impressive five-game run in the XFL in 2020—where he led the Houston Roughnecks to a 5-0 mark while passing for 1,338 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions.

He made his first NFL start in Week 11 of the 2020 campaign, in place of an injured Teddy Bridgewater. Walker, who threw for 258 yards, paced the Panthers to a 20-0 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Since then, Walker has made six more starts for Carolina. This past season—in the most extensive action of his NFL career—he recorded 731 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions over six outings.

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Panthers WR DJ Moore jokes about losing out on Moment of the Year award

Panthers WR DJ Moore jokingly harkened back to his miraculous 62-yard TD catch, which didn’t earn Moment of the Year honors on Thursday night.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore may not have this year’s Moment of the Year award, but at least he has some jokes.

At Thursday night’s NFL Honors, Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson—who earned The Associated Press 2022 Offensive Player of the Year honors to kick off the festivities—raked in that Moment of the Year hardware for his miraculous one-handed catch against the Buffalo Bills in Week 10. And, uh, yeah—rightfully so . . .

Right after Jefferson’s grab was announced as the winner, Moore then hit Twitter with an early candidate for Tweet of the Year:

Moore, of course, is referring to his 62-yard scoring connection with quarterback PJ Walker back in the Week 8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. But that miracle, unfortunately, would be somewhat negated by the ensuing unsportsmanlike penalty—when the understandably excited wideout took his helmet off in celebration.

The flag pushed the potential game-winning extra point back 15 yards, helping lead to a miss by kicker Eddy Piñeiro. Piñeiro would then miss another clincher in overtime on a 32-yard field goal try, giving way to an eventual 37-34 victory for Atlanta.

Well, there’s always next year, DJ. Just make sure to keep that cap on next time you make a game-tying grab on a 62-yard Hail Mary heave in the fourth quarter of a heated divisional matchup.

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Is Panthers QB Baker Mayfield headed to the bottom of the depth chart?

Baker Mayfield, who came to Carolina in 2022 to prove his doubters wrong, could very well be the third-string QB for the Panthers in Week 14.

For all intents and purposes, and no matter what former head coach Matt Rhule might’ve said, the Carolina Panthers were Baker Mayfield’s team when they traded for him back on July 6. But now, as we’ve entered Week 13 of this topsy-turvy season, that’s far from the case.

When interim head coach Steve Wilks met with reporters this past Monday, he wouldn’t break off into the bye without dropping an interesting nugget of information—one concerning the ever-changing quarterback position. With Sam Darnold securing the starting job for another week, Wilks was asked who would assume the backup role between PJ Walker and Mayfield.

Here was his response:

“Right now, waiting to see exactly where we are from a standpoint of PJ being healthy,” he said. “Then we’ll evaluate that situation as it occurs.”

Welp, that’s not very assuring, is it?

It’s clear that Walker has become the preferred choice for this Wilks-led regime, at least if you’re sizing him up against Mayfield. And if you are—Walker has conducted a more harmonious offense in his starts than Mayfield has.

Sadly, and especially after a particularly underwhelming performance in Baltimore two weeks ago, Mayfield may not even get another chance to change the outlook. In his six nods under center, he threw for four touchdowns to six interceptions while leading the Panthers to a 1-5 mark.

At this point, the Panthers have likely seen all they’ve needed to see from Baker.

So, in what was supposed to be a prove-it campaign for the impending free agent, 2022 could be turning into the worst-case scenario for Mayfield come next Sunday. Because if Walker is healthy enough to be in uniform, then it’s likelier than not that the former No. 1 overall pick will be No. 3 on the depth chart.

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Panthers will name Week 12 starting QB on Wednesday

Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks said he’ll name his starting QB for the Week 12 matchup against the Broncos on Wednesday.

We don’t yet know who will be starting under center for the Carolina Panthers in Week 12. But we will on Wednesday.

Less than 24 hours after his team’s 13-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, interim head coach Steve Wilks took the podium to talk some aftermath. The first question, of course, was about who his quarterback will be against the Denver Broncos in six days—an inquiry he did not have a precise answer for.

“I don’t know right now,” he said. “Still in the process of evaluating and I’ll make that decision on Wednesday.”

That decision was not made easier by Baker Mayfield, who got the nod on Sunday. Mayfield, in yet another underwhelming performance from the Carolina offense, threw for just 196 yards and a pair of interceptions.

With Sam Darnold back on the 53-man roster and PJ Walker progressing in his comeback from a high-ankle sprain, Wilks may have a trio to choose from this week. So, what will he be looking for while making that choice?

“Really, just, a lot of things,” he said. “But—operation of the offense, protecting the football, who gives us the best opportunity to do those things. Ya know, coming up with a great game plan, as coaches—’cause we’re all involved in this, not just that position.”

We’ll see who lays claim to that position soon.

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Panthers WR DJ Moore: Players have spoken with David Tepper about turf

With the dangers of turf becoming a heavy topic in the NFL, Panthers WR DJ Moore said the team’s leaders have already spoken with owner David Tepper about the issue.

For the third time this season, the Carolina Panthers are losing a quarterback due to a high-ankle sprain. And each of those ankle sprains have occurred on the Bank of America Stadium turf.

Now, to be fair, the first of those injuries happened when Buffalo Bills defensive tackle C.J. Brewer—an almost 300-pound man—landed on Sam Darnold’s foot. But, nonetheless, this week’s setback for PJ Walker comes at a particularly interesting time—one where many NFL players are lobbying to switch turf playing fields to grass.

Among those players was Panthers wide receiver DJ Moore, who said on Monday that team leadership had spoken with owner David Tepper about the issue. Tepper, in an effort to expand the potential of Bank of America Stadium as a multi-purpose venue, installed the turf surface last season.

This season, more specifically on Thursday night, the aforementioned Walker sustained his ankle-sprain in the team’s Week 10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He told reporters that he thinks it’s time for a change.

“I don’t mind it,” Walker said. “But I think it’s tough on the body. It’s tough on the body. Especially for like those big guys. Receivers as well—planting, coming out of breaks. It’s tough. So do I think the league should go to more grass fields? Absolutely.”

Even interim head coach Steve Wilks, who tried to remain as neutral as possible about the topic, said this when asked about the pushback to turf:

“I can’t get into hypotheticals,” Wilks said. “I really don’t know. We all have talked about natural grass is great. But, for whatever reason, a lot of teams have gone to the turf. So, ya know, we just gotta execute and go out there and play.”

The overall sentiment amongst players is that Carolina’s turf isn’t all that bad. But, maybe that change will come—as long as Chelsea F.C. returns to town for another friendly.

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Panthers to start Baker Mayfield vs. Ravens in Week 11

With PJ Walker down due to a high-ankle sprain, the Panthers will start Baker Mayfield against the Ravens in Week 11.

An unfortunate trifecta for the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback room has now been completed.

On Monday morning, interim head coach Steve Wilks told reporters that starter PJ Walker sustained a high-ankle sprain in the Week 10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Walker is the third Panthers quarterback on the roster, along with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, to go down with that very injury in 2022.

Walker’s setback now gives way to Mayfield, who will get the starting nod against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. It will be his sixth start of the campaign.

In his previous five, the former No. 1 overall pick passed for 962 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Carolina amassed a record of 1-4 in those outings.

Mayfield’s most recent work, other than his crazed head-butting exhibition on Thursday night, came in a relief appearance in Week 9’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. After replacing Walker in the second half, he completed 14 of his 20 attempts for 155 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Wilks added that Walker will not be immediately placed on injured reserve and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

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Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks expects to start PJ Walker vs. Ravens in Week 11

Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks said he expects to start PJ Walker against the Ravens in Week 11, but wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold taking over.

Until further notice, PJ Walker will remain the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.

On Friday afternoon, following last night’s big win over the Atlanta Falcons, interim head coach Steve Wilks told reporters that he expects to start Walker under center for the team’s Week 11 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. But, the keyword here is “expects.”

Wilks, in his response, also insinuated that both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold will have their respective chances at earning the job in the coming week. Mayfield has served as Walker’s backup for the past three games while Darnold was just reinstated to the 53-man roster after his stint on injured reserve.

Although the Panthers offense has operated at its best with Walker at the helm, the third-year passer has not played well enough to squash this conversation. Over his five starts, he’s been limited to just 84 attempts and has recorded 617 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.

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Biggest takeaways from Panthers’ Week 10 win over Falcons

Despite their win on Thursday night, the Panthers probably can’t ride with PJ Walker much longer if they’re serious about a playoff push.

Their win wasn’t as pretty as their new helmets, but the Carolina Panthers pulled out a much needed victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. So, what did we learn from the third win of the campaign?

Here are the top takeaways from the Week 10 triumph.

Biggest storylines for Panthers vs. Falcons in Week 10

Will Thursday night be PJ Walker’s last start under center for the Panthers?

For the first time all season, the Carolina Panthers will be the only show in town for the NFL. And with the division rival Atlanta Falcons joining them for this Thursday night matchup, there will be a few storylines that could make this primetime showing an interesting one.