Sam Darnold Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Panthers QB Sam Darnold threw for 341 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. He hit WR D.J. Moore, WR Shi Smith and TE Tommy Tremble for TDs. The game included a season-high 37 passing attempts for Darnold, who hadn't exceeded 24 attempts in his previous 4 starts this season. He and the Panthers close out against the Saints in Week 18.

The Panthers announced Tuesday that QB Sam Darnold will start Sunday's game against the Broncos. Darnold himself will be far from a real fantasy-lineup option for that matchup, and we're not sure he improves the outlook for the offense on whole. But a move away from Baker Mayfield can't be bad for D.J. Moore's target shares. Moore drew 27.2% of Panthers targets in the 11 games Darnold started last season. He has garnered just 22.6% target share in Mayfield's 5 starts this year.

Panthers HC Steve Wilks said Monday he hasn't decided yet who will start at QB for Sunday's game against the Broncos. he added that he'll make the decision ahead of Wednesday's practice. Baker Mayfield stunk (again) in the Week 11 loss to Baltimore. P.J. Walker is coming off a groin injury that kept him out of that game. Sam Darnold has yet to play this year after opening the season on IR. This decision might not really matter for fantasy football purposes outside of determining whether Mayfield will stick around and continue to silence WR D.J. Moore.

An ankle injury for QB P.J. Walker pressed Panthers QB Baker Mayfield back into the starting lineup for Sunday's game in Baltimore. And Mayfield delivered more of what got Carolina's offense started so slowly this season. He threw for just 196 yards, 0 TDs and 2 INTs on 21-of-33 passing. WR Terrace Marshall was the only Panther to tally more than 26 receiving yards. He caught 3 balls or 76 on a team-high 6 targets. D.J. Moore managed just 3 catches for 24 yards on 5 targets. Bet on Mayfield bowing back out of the lineup as soon as someone else is ready.

The Panthers announced Monday morning that QB Baker Mayfield will start Sunday's game at Baltimore. That's because P.J. Walker suffered a high-ankle sprain in Thursday's win over the Falcons, interim HC Steve Wilks revealed. Mayfield most recently tallied 155 yards and 2 TDs in 2nd-half mop-up duty of the lopsided Week 9 loss at Cincinnati. Before that, of course, he played terrible through the 1st 5 games. The team also reportedly has "some interest in seeing Sam Darnold in action at some point," a ringing endorsement by way of ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Here's hoping you don't need to use a Carolina QB in your fantasy football lineup anytime soon.

The Panthers will start QB P.J. Walker again Thursday night against the Falcons. Walker got pulled for Baker Mayfield at halftime of Sunday's lopsided to the Bengals, and Carolina activated QB Sam Darnold from IR on Monday morning. But the short week leading up to their next game likely contributed to the decision not to make a starter switch. Walker, of course, threw for 317 yards in the Week 8 win at Atlanta. Keep in mind, though, that he only completed 52.8% of his passes in that game and generated 62 of his yards on the single Hail Mary-style throw to WR D.J. Moore at the end of regulation. We'd still try not to use Walker in fantasy football lineups. We'll see about the team's QB plans beyond Week 10.

The Panthers activated QB Sam Darnold (ankle) from IR. He's been practicing for a couple of weeks but is now evidently ready for game action. We'll see who Carolina goes with at QB vs. the Falcons this weekend. QB P.J. Walker was benched at halftime of the loss to the Bengals. QB Baker Mayfield played his best football of the season over the 2nd half, completing 14 of 20 passes for 155 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs.

Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks said Monday that QB P.J. Walker will start this weekend's game vs. the Falcons, even if QBs Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold are ready to return from their ankle injuries. Walker was efficient in Sunday's shocking win over the Bucs, completing 16 of 22 passes (73%) for 177 yards (8.1 YPA), 2 TDs and 0 INTs. Most importantly, he got WR D.J. Moore going. The pair connected on 7 of 10 targets for 69 yards and 1 score. Walker remains a bottom-barrel fantasy option, but Moore is back in the WR3 mix for Week 8.

Panthers HC Steve Wilks said Wednesday that QB P.J. Walker will start Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. Walker threw for just 60 yards before leading the Week 6 loss with a neck issue. It doesn't sound like the team is concerned about that injury. The Panthers also designated QB Sam Darnold to return from IR Wednesday, though we'll see if he's ready for a spot on the active roster this week. Jacob Eason served as Walker's backup in Week 6.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold (ankle) has been designated to return from IR and will return to practice this week. With QBs Baker Mayfield and P.J. Walker both banged up and playing horribly, we'll likely get Darnold back in our lives at some point this season. Of course, you can leave him on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold (ankle) is eligible to come off the IR this week but is expected to still be sidelined for "a while," a source tells ESPN's Adam Schefter. This is worth reporting because QB Baker Mayfield has been so bad through 4 games that we're all wondering whether Darnold might actually be an upgrade. Unfortunately, it looks like it'll be Mayfield for at least a few more games.

Panthers QB Sam Darnold suffered a nasty looking left ankle injury in Friday night's preseason game vs. the Bills. He was quickly ruled out for the game. We'll pass along an update on Darnold when we get one, but this had the look of a long-term injury. Darnold, of course, had already lost the starting job to QB Baker Mayfield.

Update: It's a high-ankle sprain, per multiple reports.

The Panthers officially named QB Baker Mayfield their starter. This was expected since Carolina swung a trade for Mayfield in early July. He started the preseason opener over QB Sam Darnold, going 4-of-7 for 45 yards on 1 series. Mayfield is just a lower-end QB2 for fantasy squads, but we expect him to be an upgrade over Darnold for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore and the rest of the Panthers offense.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted Friday that Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold “are still in a QB battle” for the starting job. Mayfield is believed to be the heavy favorite, but HC Matt Rhule hasn’t announced who’ll get the Week 1 nod vs. Cleveland.

The Panthers have announced that QB Baker Mayfield will start Saturday's preseason opener. This doesn't necessarily mean he's THE starter, but it sure seems like a signal that Mayfield holds at least a slight lead over incumbent Sam Darnold. And it comes less than a week after Ian Rapoport reported that Mayfield has the "inside track" to the gig. Mayfield is certainly our bet in this competition, and he's still going late enough to be a value in best-ball and superflex drafts.

Panthers OC Ben McAdoo said Tuesday that rookie QB Matt Corral is "slowly and quietly improving," according to Darin Gantt of the team website. "He has a unique skill set," the coach added. "He has some juice to him, personality wise." The trade for QB Baker Mayfield likely killed any shot Corral might have had at starting early in his rookie year. And this sounds like a coach offering measured optimism. Corral still makes for an interesting dynasty stash, with neither Mayfield nor Sam Darnold signed beyond this season.