Panthers' Steve Wilks noncommittal on Baker Mayfield as starting quarterback: 'I can't give you that answer'

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Baker Mayfield’s first season with the Carolina Panthers is not going the way anyone might have expected it to. 

During a press conference with reporters on Monday, interim head coach Steve Wilks was explicitly asked if the starting job would still be Mayfield’s once he returns to the lineup after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Panthers' Week 5 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. 

Baker Mayfield, #6 of the Carolina Panthers, looks to throw the ball during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at Bank of America Stadium on Oct. 9, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

His response? No promises. 

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"I can't give you that answer,'' Wilks said bluntly. "But I can tell you right now those guys [in the quarterback room] are going to compete at that position just as well as other positions to see who exactly goes out there on Sunday."

Carolina’s quarterback situation is grim. Both Mayfield and Sam Daronold are out with high ankle sprains, with the latter being eligible to return from injured reserve on Wednesday. P.J. Walker is dealing with a neck injury after clearing concussion protocol this week, leaving Jacob Eason as the only healthy signal caller left. 

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, #6 of the Carolina Panthers, looks on during the fourth quarter of their game against the Cleveland Browns at Bank of America Stadium on Sept. 11, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

"I think they are all considered to be in the mix, especially with the injuries that we have," Wilks said Monday. "I told [Eason] on the