SPARTANBURG, S.C. — There were loud cheers for Baker Mayfield as he made his way to his first Panthers practice on Wednesday, but don't forget Sam Darnold yet.
"I heard a couple [for me], yeah," he said with a smile.
We're counting everything these days at training camp in Spartanburg, especially practice reps.
Darnold took snaps with the first team on Wednesday with Mayfield running with the twos.
They'll flip things around on Thursday.
"Really competing against each other," Mayfield said. "It's a great start."
Cutting down on turnovers will be key to a successful 2022 season in Carolina.
The pair of 2018 first-round picks combined for 108 interceptions in their first four NFL seasons.
On Wednesday, Mayfield was picked off by Keith Taylor.
"Not excited about some of the throws accuracy-wise," Mayfield said. "Got a little greedy on one. I've got to take care of the ball. Some good, but not enough of it."
But Mayfield did show the ability to throw the deep ball.
"A couple of times I thought he made some big throws down the field," coach Matt Rhule said. "It's going to be a long, working process, I'm excited to see it happen."
Rhule did not give a timeframe on when he'll make his decision.
But many expect the Panthers, who traded for Mayfield earlier this month, to start the new guy.
"You wouldn't have gotten Baker Mayfield if you didn't think he was going to win the job," Sports Illustrated football reporter Conor Orr said.
Orr agrees that Mayfield provides the Panthers with an upgrade at the position after Darnold's struggles in 2021.
"There's only 32 guys in the world who can play a position like this and Baker's probably one of the top 15," Orr said. "You don't just let someone like that go. And so I think Carolina has taken a shot on him."
The camp competition has been cordial, but Mayfield is known as a fiery competitor.
Some in Cleveland were quoted as calling him "immature" and "un-coachable" on his way out.
"I think whatever the Browns thought of him on the way out, there's certainly an acknowledgment from his side that like, 'Hey, I just want to keep my head down and, and win this job.' And you know, I think that's all you can ask for."
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