NFL Odds: Will Baker Mayfield Start Week 1 For Panthers After Trade?

The Carolina Panthers on Wednesday acquired quarterback Baker Mayfield in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.

Now, the question becomes: Will Mayfield start for Carolina in Week 1?

Mayfield joins a QB depth chart that includes Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and rookie Matt Corral. It’s entirely possible the Panthers enter training camp with an open competition, pitting Mayfield against Darnold, but oddsmakers believe the former is the frontrunner to earn the starting job.

In fact, Mayfield is a heavy favorite to lock down the gig, with a Darnold wager therefore offering some value given that he’s the incumbent and entering his second season in Carolina.

Here are the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Thursday night, for who will be the Panthers’ starting quarterback to open the 2022 NFL season:

Baker Mayfield -1200
Sam Darnold +500
Matt Corral +5000
Jimmy Garoppolo +10000

That means a $100 bet on Darnold would net you a $500 profit should he take Carolina’s first offensive snap of the upcoming campaign. Not a bad return, seeing as Mayfield isn’t exactly a world-beater despite representing an obvious upgrade over the group the Panthers had assembled.

It’s at least within the realm of possibility Darnold opens the season as Carolina’s QB1, even if he eventually relinquishes the title to Mayfield. The Panthers, after all, traded a 2021 sixth-round pick plus second- and fourth-round picks in 2022 to the New York Jets to land Darnold last offseason.

Corral, meanwhile, is a total wild card in this equation after being selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Ole Miss product might be Carolina’s quarterback of the future, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll be handed the keys right away with at least two veterans ahead of him on the depth chart.

As for Garoppolo, well, that’s a total dart throw. The San Francisco 49ers presumably will move on from him at some point this offseason as Trey Lance takes over under center. But Wednesday’s trade sending Mayfield from Cleveland to Carolina probably rules out the Panthers as a potential landing spot … right?

In any event, the Panthers face the Browns in Cleveland in Week 1. So, that should be fun.