Matt Rhule - QB battle between Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold will result in NFL wins for Carolina Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule doesn't know whether his starting quarterback will be the recently acquired Baker Mayfield or returning starter Sam Darnold, but he believes the competition will give the team its best chance to succeed since he arrived in 2020.

«My job is not to pick the starting quarterback,'' Rhule said on Monday, the first time he spoke publicly since Carolina acquired Mayfield in a trade with Cleveland earlier this month. „The players will do that with the way they play.

“My job is to make sure we have really good players in the room, which now we do, and make sure they have opportunities. It'll be a fun ride. When we know, we will know.''

The ride begins on Tuesday, when the Panthers report to training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It'll be Rhule's third NFL camp after consecutive five-win seasons to begin his NFL head-coaching career.

The perception nationally is the Panthers need to show marked improvement for Rhule to keep his job beyond this season. Rhule's focus is on building a team capable of winning, and he understands that a capable quarterback is key to that.

»This year, I expect to win,'' he said. «I've never gone into a season and said, 'Well, I hope I can win this many games and keep my job.' I want to win at the highest level.''

Rhule believes the competition between Mayfield and Darnold gives him that chance regardless of who wins the job. With those two, along with third-round pick Matt Corral and former XFL star PJ Walker, he can't imagine many teams have a deeper quarterback room.

»It's going to be a lot of great competition,'' Rhule said. «And to be quite honest, it'll be really good for our team, the competition.''

That competition